Music is the Inspiration
by doctorrosetyler
Summary: A new series of one-shots inspired by random songs. Each chapter is an individual story, named by the song that inspired it. 10/Rose
1. Electric Storm

Electric Storm

By: doctorrosetyler

Summary: The Doctor and Rose are trapped on an island after a rather unfortunate accident. Perhaps this is what they needed? 10/Rose

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Delta Goodrem's song "Electric Storm", though both are brilliant.

She stood on the small island he had landed them on, gazing in awe at the sky above them. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The sky was a dark, swirling mass of purples and blues. Lightning lit up the ocean for a split second, turning everything into shadows and shades of blue electricity.

His hand tightened around hers; pulling her from the shore and back into the shelter he had built. Just as they huddled under the lean-to, made of palm fronds (or something like that…this wasn't exactly earth), the rain thundered down.

"I'm so sorry I got you into this" he said, pulling her closer to keep her warm. It was a good thing his body temperature ran hotter than hers. Well, good for her anyway. He must be freezing. An image of his offended expression popped into her mind 'Time Lords don't get cold, Rose' cartoon-Doctor said. She giggled (in her head, of course. It wouldn't do to laugh out loud right now, with his face so serious and guilty.) and held his hand tighter in hers, feeling the warmth seep into her veins. She smiled at him. She was exhausted, sore, hungry, and cold. But she smiled for him.

"Doctor, I'd much rather be in this mess with you than at home, working in that shop. Especially if that means you'd be here alone." He smiled that sad smile that meant something was going on in that enormous head of his.

"Sometimes I would rather be alone than have you hurt." He winced as he looked down at the wound in her leg. It was healing nicely, but it still looked red and painful.

She shook her head. "I wouldn't."

He cupped her face in his hands, pulling her eyes to meet his. "I'm going to get us out of this. After that, we can talk about-"he cut himself off and sighed. "Good night." He pulled the makeshift blanket over them and promptly fell asleep (or the Time Lord version of sleep) with his head on her shoulder, holding her to him (to keep her warm, of course).

_Fighting for no reward, cold in the rain_

_I'm tossing and turning your words ever burning my heart_

She lay there, thinking on his words. What had he meant? Talk about what? About the day before? That wasn't really a kiss; they just…got caught up in the heat of the moment.

Oh, who was she kidding? She snogged the _hell_ out of him. To be fair, he had returned the kiss with more passion than she had. It wasn't entirely her fault.

She tried really hard, but she just couldn't fall asleep. She was exhausted and just wanted to escape this harsh reality they had found themselves in, but all she could think about were his words and the feel of his body pressed against hers. His warmth was comforting.

_Love's an electric storm of pleasure and pain_

_Where thunder and lightning are crashing and striking us down_

It was so strange, with him. One minute she felt beautiful and so in love with him. During those moments, like the kiss they had shared, she felt that maybe he might love her too. Those moments were often followed by swift denial on both parts, and she was left feeling empty. She always thought, 'maybe this time, he won't dismiss it. Maybe this time, he'll kiss me again.' But he always ignored it, moving past it swiftly as if it had been nothing at all.

But it was different this time. They both knew that kiss wasn't just nothing. It was years of repressed passion released in a moment of intense emotion. She knew, however, that those emotions could never be revealed, unless they wanted things to change beyond repair.

She lay in his arms all night, listening to the thunder and rain. The lightning through the entrance illuminated his sleeping face, and she finally fell asleep to the sound of his two hearts.

_Two people shipwrecked, stranded alone_

_Praying for dry land, to save our souls_

They had come to this planet for the storms. "They're beautiful, Rose! Truly magnificent!" he had said, as he circled the console. They landed at midday and rented a boat to go out to the island. Unfortunately, the Doctor had forgotten about the giant humibularan (whale things with flat heads). One had attacked their ship when they had almost reached the island. They managed to swim to shore, but they were stranded on the island. They were doing fine as far as survival went, but they had been out here for three days. Being alone with no distractions was making it difficult to ignore the tension between them.

_Hurricane season just knocked us down_

_Emotional suicide running the ground_

There were constant thunderstorms, which made it pretty easy to get fresh water. This made survival much easier. There were plenty of materials on the island for the Doctor to build them a new boat; one that wasn't blue (the color that attracted the horrid whale creatures…why would the locals even make blue boats?) that would take them safely back to the mainland and the TARDIS.

They just had to survive the next two weeks of the hurricane season. It was far too risky to go out on the water when there were constant storms knocking their boat about. They couldn't risk it. So they stayed on the island, practicing their survival techniques and trying their best to ignore the feelings they had for one another.

It was much more difficult here than it was in the TARDIS. The sentient ship had so many rooms and hallways, so many places they could go to avoid one another when the tension became too much, that it wasn't as hard there. It was still difficult to ignore how much she wanted to pull his grinning face to hers and snog him senseless. Sometimes she felt that he thought the same.

But that was impossible. Because they were _just friends_. And friends didn't make out with each other in the middle of a thunderstorm on a cold beach on a distant planet.

Or…err…maybe they did. It certainly didn't _mean_ anything. After all, he was a 904 year old Time Lord. And she was a desperately in love 23 year old human. She would be dead and gone long before he would be. He may not even regenerate in that time. They could be lovers for a few years, but then people would start to think she was his mother. Then his grandmother. She couldn't live with that. He would be scorned when people found out the truth; they wouldn't understand the depth of their love. They wouldn't understand that underneath his skin, he was far older than she would ever be.

That didn't make his raggedy dress shirt any less sexy. And it didn't deter her from running her hands through his hair every chance she got, just to brush the sand away.

It certainly hadn't stopped her from kissing him.

They had been standing on the beach, watching the lightning hit the water and light up the sky. It was breathtaking. She hadn't been watching where she was going, and she stepped on a prickly gorkle. The creature shot a needle up through her leg, slashing the skin on her calf. The Doctor quickly pulled the needle out of her leg, throwing the offending animal into the water. She had watched his face as he stitched up the wound. His hand on her thigh hadn't distracted her one bit, no matter how lovely that stroking thing he was doing with this thumb was. No, not one bit. He had looked so worried and afraid when he soaked up the blood with a bit of cloth torn from his sleeve that she forgot where his hands were and focused solely on him. When he had finished treating her wound, he had turned to her. She was sprawled out on the sand, her leg in his lap. He moved from her leg to her head, pulling her to sit up and cupping her cheek with his hand.

That's when she really met his eyes. They were so deep and beautiful. His eyes went far past the physical. It was like she was looking into _him_. In one instant, she saw more of himself- could swear she saw all of his incarnations looking back at her.

Thunder crashed around them, but neither of them noticed the sound. There was an intensity building between them, electricity sparking wherever they touched. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her breath coming in short, quiet, pants. Something was building and neither of them was willing to stop it this time.

Without thinking at all she pulled his face down to hers. The kiss was searing, burning its way into her memories and eliciting more of a response from him than she had expected. She thought he would pull away, chastise her for trying something like that with him.

Instead, he hauled her closer and kissed her harder. His tongue ran along her bottom lip and she opened for him. His tongue slipped into her mouth; gently at first he stroked her tongue with his own. His fingers slipped down to the bandage on her leg, and the kiss changed. What was gentle became rough and passionate. His hand slipped back into her hair and angled her head so that he could kiss her deeper. She returned it with equal passion, pulling his face to hers even harder. Their mouths separated and met again more times than she could count, each time at a different angle, and each time more intense. She felt that the kiss was far deeper than physical. They were trying to become one person, and she could feel his desperation.

The rain broke them apart. She wasn't sure how long they had been kissing, but what had been afternoon was now nightfall. She looked to his face and could see from the look in his eyes that he was going to walk away. She grabbed him by the shoulders, begging him silently that he wouldn't ignore that- he couldn't. There were so many feelings in that kiss.

_Fighting for no reward, cold in the rain_

_I'm tossing and turning your words ever burning my heart_

Then she saw the fear in his eyes. Things would change if he admitted to those feelings. He would give himself to her irrevocably, and then she would die. She would someday leave him, though it would never be by choice, and he would be broken. Perhaps it would be worse than the Time War.

She did the only thing she could do. She let him out of it. She looked up into his eyes and said "Maybe we should get out of the rain? Start a fire, yeah?"

The relief in his eyes was tinged with great regret. She was sure her eyes were the same.

_Love's an electric storm of pleasure and pain_

_Where thunder and lightning are crashing and striking us down _

So now, here she was. Alone in a lean-to after her third night in the Doctor's warm arms. He had woken earlier and gone to collect more wood. If they were going to be there for three weeks, he wanted to make a better shelter; one where they could have the fire inside. She sighed, getting up from her place on the soft bed he had made, and went about collecting food.

She found a small tide pool a short distance from the camp and started pulling mussels from it. Picking up snails, she checked the water running out of them. Green. That wouldn't do. This tide pool was poison. She continued along the beach. It wasn't the most difficult job, finding food. There was the whole ocean to catch fish from (sometimes the Doctor cheated and used his sonic to stun fish and catch them) and a rather large island with plenty of fruit and wildlife on it.

She heard a loud grunt to her right. Surprised, she turned and went into the trees to investigate. They had carefully checked their island for other people the moment they got there. Continuing through the brush, she began to hear the sounds of chopping and the sonic screwdriver whirring. Just what was the Doctor doing out here?

She entered the clearing to find a rather large building. It was old and run down. She could still hear the Doctor somewhere nearby, but she was slightly distracted by the large structure. The building was about the same size as her mum's flat, though the ceilings were a bit lower. She went in the door. Shafts of light came down from the remaining holes in the ceiling, enough to illuminate the inside. There was very little dust on the floor. The Doctor had already cleaned it out really well. The windows were still intact, and there were patches on the walls. He must have been fixing this place for the past two days. She turned to the inside and saw a small fireplace and chimney being built. Her smile widened. Her Doctor was bloody brilliant.

She turned to the sound of shuffling near the door. The Doctor dropped the wood he was carrying.

"Rose…what are you doing here?" he asked, picking his things back up quickly to hide the fact that he had dropped them to begin with.

She smiled at him "I heard noises and wondered what you were doing. So this is where you've been going the past few days?"

He nodded, setting to work building the fireplace. (She thought to herself that it was about time he added wood settings to the sonic) She went to help him. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have been helping you." She said, holding the wood he was sonicking.

He shook his head. "It was supposed to be a surprise. I found this place when I first went looking for a place to stay. I thought it would be perfect if I could fix it up a bit. We can't spend three weeks in that little shelter, can we?"

She wasn't thinking much when she said "With you, I don't really mind."

His eyes met hers and she saw some of that ancient regret behind them, before he smiled. "I think just one more night in that little thing will be enough time for me to fix this place up for us."

She couldn't help how excited she was about that. She only hoped that she would still get to spend the nights in his arms.

After a few hours of helping him on their new shelter, she went back out in search for food. She promised him that she wouldn't return to the shelter until he told her it was finished. They had a new shelter, yeah, but they still had to eat. Armed with her very own sonic, which the Doctor had given her for her birthday, she went about catching fish. Foraging wasn't doing much anyway.

She couldn't help but feel that this was all a bit domestic. He wasn't just making her a house on this island. He was surprising her with a home that he had built, however makeshift it may be. She smiled at the thought. So, maybe they couldn't be together in the way they both wanted. If that was the case, then Rose decided to herself that the Doctor would always know that he was loved. If she died today or in eighty years, the Doctor would always know that she was deeply and truly in love with him. He would be certain that she was in love with him, even though they couldn't be together.

_I won't give up, never, never_

_I won't be struck by the weather _

That night he returned to their little lean-to, sweat dripping from his body. He took a quick dip in the spring they had found before crawling in with her. She smiled at him, handing him his meal and they ate in companionable silence. She couldn't help but be proud when he told her the meal was good. For a minute, she felt like a wife that was pleasing her husband with a meal when he came home from work. She reveled in it for a moment, and then let the feeling pass. She was his friend, and they were just practicing their survival skills and waiting for the hurricane season to be over.

So why did surviving feel like living?

When they were finished with their meal, they crawled into their bed together. The rain poured down outside and she listened to it thudding on the roof of their shelter. She felt the Doctor pull the blanket (made from the sail of their ship) up around them. Her heart jumped pleasantly in her chest as he pulled her to him, spooning her body to his.

"Good night, Doctor." She said, laying back into his warm chest.

"Sweet dreams, Rose." He said.

She could have imagined it, but she thought perhaps she felt a feather-light kiss on her temple as she fell asleep.

_Hold on when the wind's so strong_

_Tell me, how can we find our way home_

_In love's electric storm_

The Doctor lay awake long after Rose fell asleep. This was getting so much harder. Out here, it was so easy to forget that he would live for thousands of years after she died. It was so easy to hold her close, smell her hair, and kiss her temple as she fell asleep.

That had definitely been a mistake. He could taste her on his lips. It was salty and sweet and so very Rose. He wanted another taste. It was all he could do not to wake her from her sleep and ravage her mouth right there.

Parts of him (nine, specifically) yelled at him to do just that. Would the end be worth all this denial and pain? Would keeping her at arm's length ease his pain in the end, or would it be worse from regret of never holding her or making love to her?

He knew she was in love with him. That kiss they had shared was more passionate and beautiful than anything he had experienced in his life. Would the universe really take such a perfect love from him? He had never felt this way before. He felt if she weren't there with him, he would cease to really exist. He couldn't be the Doctor without Rose.

Maybe it was time for him to let go.

_Feels like the last chance to get out alive_

_Will we survive these treacherous nights?_

This was a life-altering decision. If he stopped holding back, he would never be able to keep his world from changing. Rose would become part of him. He would be with her in every way, their minds would be one and she would know of his love for her.

She would know his name. Everything that he tried to shelter her from, everything he tried to hide would be hers to see. There could be no closed doors in his mind.

He pulled her closer to his chest at the roar of an alien predator. He could do it. He could love Rose for the rest of his life, because she would love him for the rest of her life. His regret would kill him if he didn't show her what she meant to him.

His Bad Wolf had tamed the Oncoming Storm. He fell asleep with his face in her neck, dreaming of the life they could have together.

The lightning continued to flash through the night. Neither of them heard a thing, so content were they in each other's arms.

_Predators waiting, circling around_

_Sky full of fireworks burn without sound_

Rose awoke the next morning warmer than she had been the past few days. It took her a moment to realize that the Doctor was still in bed, arms wrapped tightly around her. She felt his even breaths against her neck and smiled.

So this is what it was like to wake up in his arms.

She liked it.

He was warm and solid against her. His heartbeats thudded softly against her back. His stubble tickled her shoulder. It felt so intimate, laying here with him. She didn't want it to end.

A few minutes later, the Doctor woke. She feigned sleep, hoping he might stay there a bit longer. He didn't. His arms loosened around her and his warmth left her completely. She felt a warm kiss on her cheek and then heard him leave the shelter, presumably to go work on their new place.

She brought her hand up to touch the place he had just kissed. Did he do that every morning when he left? Her heart skipped in her chest. She really hoped he did.

She waited a few more minutes before getting up. She went looking for food again, feeling the monotony getting to her. He had ruined her for the slow path. She would forever yearn for the TARDIS and the exciting life that came with her Doctor. If she was bothered by it, surely the Doctor was already bouncing off the proverbial walls to get off this island.

She made lunch for the two of them before dismantling the stove to move it. They ate in silence, departing with a hug for their afternoon work. She caught dinner (She actually speared the fish herself instead of cheating. She was rather proud of that, actually.) and packed it carefully to cook at their new camp.

The Doctor had told her that their new shelter would be finished that evening, so she began to pack up the tools and items that they had managed to save from the wreckage. He came to get her at sundown, taking her hand and leading her through the trees. He was practically bouncing with excitement, speeding their pace until they were sprinting through the brush.

They burst through the trees into the clearing, and Rose let out a gasp at what she saw. The building looked nothing like it had the day before. There was smoke coming from the chimney and the door was painted blue (she briefly wondered where he got blue paint, but dismissed that train of questions- he really could have _anything_ in those dimensionally transcendent pockets). He pulled her forward, male pride and boyish excitement playing across his face.

They hopped up onto the deck, and he gestured to the door. She reached out with the hand that wasn't wrapped tightly in his and opened it.

She gasped at the interior. It looked so warm and homey, far from what it had been when she first had seen it. He had gone far beyond just making them a shelter. She stepped into it, feeling warm for the first time since morning, when she had woken up in the Doctor's arms. He had gone so far as to make them a table and two chairs to eat their supper on. There were the two plates they had managed to salvage from the wreckage of their boat. There were even flowers on the table. She could barely contain her excitement and shock.

She nearly cried when she saw the other piece of furniture in the small room. It was a rather large bed. She went over to it, feeling the mattress that the Doctor had made. He had used some of the sail and blankets from the ship to make the mattress, resting it on a frame made of wood from the surrounding trees. The blanket was another piece of the sail. She set the things down that she had brought, turning to the Doctor with a large smile on her face.

"Doctor…thank you. This is…way beyond a shelter."

He smiled at her, grasping her hand in his and giving it a small squeeze. "We might as well feel at home for the next two weeks."

_Have we never been stronger?_

_Have we never been tighter?_

She took in his form in the firelight. There was dirt on his face and under his fingernails; his shirt was torn and dirty. His trousers were rolled up to his knees and his feet were grungy.

He had never looked more attractive.

toothbrush. She smiled at him, standing on her tip-toes to press a small kiss to his lips in thanks before setting about cooking the dinner she had made.

She flushed as she set up the stove, berating herself for her bad self control. She had turned so quickly that she missed his blush. She didn't see the smile on his lips as he reached up one hand to touch where her lips had just been.

_But we're close to the wire again_

_Have we never been safer?_

Now that they had the new shelter, the Doctor joined her on her food-hunting excursions. She had learned where to find food on the island in the past few days, so for the first time the Doctor was learning from her. It was a new addition to their dynamic; she wasn't used to knowing things that he didn't.

Her hand was warmer than it had ever been.

They were constantly together. There was very little danger on the island, aside from a few jungle cats that slept during the day and were easily kept out of their house by night.

That's what they called it now- their house.

It was strange. Though they had to find their own food and water (and she had to improvise greatly when her period came- that was an awful few days, and rather awkward when the Doctor could barely leave her alone long enough to go into the trees and change her makeshift pads), they were living together. He slept in that bed with her every night, his arms wrapped around her. She woke up warm every morning.

And now they were kissing a lot. Not the passionate snog they had shared on the beach, but soft "friendly" kisses. Ever since she had kissed him in the house, this seemed to accent (but never replace) hugs as a celebration or currency of affection. When he did something nice, she kissed him. When she did something he was particularly proud of (his standards on what made him proud had lowered since the kissing started, apparently) he would lean down and press his lips lightly to hers. There was never tongue, or open mouths involved. It was enough for her to sense that something was changing between them.

She liked it. She tried so hard not to let this become normal; had to remind herself that life would go back to the way it was when they got back to the TARDIS. She had no idea that the Doctor was doing the same thing.

He was still wrestling between letting himself go completely and telling Rose how he loved her and trying to keep things semi-platonic for fear that she may discover his feelings for her.

The problem was that he was pretty sure she already knew that he was head over heels in love with her. He knew that she was doing everything she could to show him she loved him without pushing beyond the boundaries of their relationship. He had recently decided that he was going to take the next step with her, but he didn't want to do it here. It would be far too easy to go back to the TARDIS and ignore the minor changes that had happened on this island. It would be too easy to never kiss her again, and go back to the extended hugs and constant hand-holding.

Because he was afraid.

Logic told him that he should avoid falling for her, that if he let her in completely he was going to be even lonelier when she left him. He had maybe 60 years left with her if he was lucky. But it was far too late to avoid falling in love with her; he was long past that. He was plummeting into it, and there was no going back now. He knew that he would never stop loving her now.

His heart told him to stop all of this "friendship" crap, throw her down on the sand, and have his wicked way with her.

He resisted. When he made love to her, he wanted it to be special. He didn't want to be one of her boyfriends that take her because it suits them. He wanted to romance her, take her on a date, and he didn't want to just shag her. He wanted to make sweet love to her. He wanted to bind their minds together and never let them part. He wanted her to know that he would never leave her, and that he was going to do everything possible to keep her with him forever.

Because she was a part of who he was, and he didn't want to lose her.

So he was going to spend the rest of this trip letting her know that he loved her- subtly. When they got back to the TARDIS, he would stop resisting and let things happen. He would let this hidden love and desire for Rose out, and he would ask her to be his.

So they spent their time on the island taking care of each other and trying not to shag each other. The last day before the hurricanes left, they stood on the beach near their old shelter, watching the lightning for the last time. In the distance, Rose could see the hurricanes, rolling their way across the purple water. They danced together, creating waves and wind, and making the sky roar with thunder.

She felt his hand tighten around hers and felt a tear slip from her eye. He noticed instantly, as he wasn't really watching the storm, but the wonder on her face.

"What's wrong, Rose? We're going home tomorrow. We can finally wear clothes without holes and use soap!" he laughed, trying to cheer her up. (And I can kiss you for real, he thought to himself)

She shook her head, trying to clear her head and dry her tears. "Nothing, I'm fine."

The Doctor turned her away from the storm to face him. "I know you better than that. It's not nothing."

She looked over her left shoulder at the storm, trying to burn its image into her memory. "I don't want to go."

At the horrified look on his face, she scrambled to reword her sentence. "No! I mean, I want to go home, I just…I'm going to miss this." She gestured to the storms. She didn't really mean just the storms, though, and the Doctor knew this. He felt the same, but he knew that things couldn't stop evolving when they got back to the TARDIS. They started down the hill in a cart without a brake, there was no stopping until they were all the way to the bottom.

He chuckled a bit, putting his arm around her shoulders and turning back to the storm. "Rose, the TARDIS doesn't just take us places once, remember? We can come back as often as you want."

She returned his smile and followed him back to the house, stopping to glance at the boat he had built that would take them home in the morning.

The next morning they got up, packed some food and water for the trip, and got in their small boat. The Doctor hoisted the sail and soon their island was a tiny little dot in the distance. Rose sighed deeply, a deep regret building in her heart. She wished she had taken advantage of that island. Maybe she wouldn't have the relationship with the Doctor that she wanted, but she might have at least gotten another good snog out of it.

They spent most of the day in open water, and she found that she was really glad that the Doctor had such a good sense of direction. She would have gotten them hopelessly lost out here. It was late afternoon when they docked back at the mainland.

After several words with the angry (his boat was ruined, after all) boathouse manager about the color choice of his vessels, they grabbed some food (not fish or coconuts, _finally_) and went back to the TARDIS. Rose had forgotten how much she missed it until she saw it. She felt the Doctor's excitement at seeing it, and their hands met as they sprinted down the walkway towards it. She grabbed her key from the chain around her neck and let them in.

The chiming music let them know that the TARDIS was glad to see them, and had missed them. She didn't expect what happened next.

The Doctor threw his arms around her and spun her around the console, not quite dancing but getting close. He hauled her to him and kissed her.

He _really_ kissed her.

To say she was surprised was an understatement, but she wasn't one to let opportunities like this pass her by. She kissed him back with all the passion her exhausted body could afford to channel.

They were dirty and tired and sunburned and yet they stood there, kissing until the TARDIS chimed at them. The Doctor broke the kiss, laughing.

Rose looked to him for a translation.

"The TARDIS just told us we smell."

She laughed and they parted to go take showers. She pulled on a new pair of jeans and a shirt, feeling human again for the first time in weeks. She was glad to be home, but she couldn't help but wonder about the kiss that he had just given her. Was that his way of telling her that he was ready to move their relationship forward?

She got her answer when she opened the door and came face to face with the Doctor, looking very nervous indeed. She was about to question him when he pressed a light kiss to her lips and offered his hand for her to take.

She took it, of course. Regardless of confusion or questions, she would always take his hand. (She couldn't help but ponder the last few minutes…kissing on a desert Island was one thing, but on the TARDIS was another. What was going _on_?)

He opened the door, motioning with his finger to his lips that she should be quiet. They stepped out onto the sand and closed the door behind them.

She recognized where they were. They were on their island. The thunder was crashing around them and lightning flashed. She looked to him with a question, but he shook his head. She must still need to be quiet, then.

He led them over to a large rock, motioning that she should peek over the top of it.

She did, and what she saw surprised her. There they were, kissing deeply on the sand. He had taken her back to the day that she had kissed him. She watched silently, amazed by the passion she saw between them. It was like watching a romance film, where the two lovers would be passionately embracing for the last time. She wondered why he was showing this to her. What was he trying to tell her?

She felt him come up behind her, pressing his body into hers and his lips to her ear.

"Rose, I've been holding us back for far too long. That was the most beautiful kiss I have ever had. And I don't want that to be the last one. We could have that sort of relationship, you know. If you want." He whispered into her ear, the thunder covering his voice from their past selves. Not that they would have noticed anyway.

She turned to him, forcing her eyes away from the passionate scene to look at his face.

He looked hopeful and afraid at the same time. His eyes held such intense longing that she blinked and looked again to make sure it was really there. It was.

"Doctor…" she whispered, trying to find her voice. "You know that I love you. You know how much I want that. But I don't want you to hurt when I die. If it will make it more painful for you in the end, then I don't want that. I want you to be happy. And I never want you to be lonely." She felt tears running down her face. He reached up and brushed them away.

That ancient look had returned to his eyes. She could see that he was trying to hide his pain from her. "Rose, it's far too late for that. I'm in love with you, too. Surely you knew that. It will hurt when you leave me no matter what our relationship is. At least this way I will have my memories of you. I will remember loving you and taking care of you, instead of pushing you away."

She felt her heart pitter-patter in her chest. But she had to be sure. There was no going back after this. No ignoring it. They would be a couple. "Are you sure?"

He leaned his face towards hers, his eyes slipping closed. "I've never been surer."

She accepted that answer and met him halfway, their kiss rivaling the one that was ending behind them.

They didn't notice when it began to rain, nor did they hear themselves get up and leave for their camp. They later went back into the TARDIS and made some electricity of their own.

_I won't give up, never, never_

_I won't be struck by the weather_

_Hold on when the wind's so strong_

_Tell me, how can we find our way home_

_In love's electric storm_

As his mind was united with hers, he felt free as he was bound. He would love her forever, even when she was gone. And it was a big universe. Surely there was a way to extend her forever. So after they made love, he fell asleep with his nose in her neck and his arms around her bare waist, a real smile on his face.

**A/N**

**So, what did you think? I've got several more songs lined up to do some songfics for. They will mostly be one-shots, but I'll post them as chapters of a single story. What can I say? I'm inspired by music, and sometimes I need to give credit where credit is due. So, on to the next one! Let me know if you have any good song ideas. I'm not promising I'll write them, but I might! **

**Much Love,**

**doctorrosetyler**


	2. Fires at Midnight

Fires at Midnight

By: doctorrosetyler

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, or Blackmore's Night's "Fires at Midnight"

Summary: The Doctor take Rose somewhere to share an important moment in his life.

**A/N: One might note that this chapter has upped the rating to M. This means there is content of an explicit nature. The reader might be advised. **

He couldn't figure out why he had brought her here.

It was near sunset on this planet. Even he couldn't pronounce the name. Rose was standing next to him patiently. He hadn't told her anything. She hadn't asked. Somehow she knew that this wasn't something she should question. She always knew when she should just be there to hold his hand.

Only one of the things he loved her for.

Her hand squeezed his as he led her forward. They crested a hill as the sky changed all sorts of colors. There were blues, reds, purples, yellows, and any other color imaginable. Rose gasped slightly, but still didn't say anything.

This isn't what he had brought her here to see.

He looked down at the rich orange grass, so close to the red of Gallifrey's. This is where he had come that night. The night after his planet burned. He had stood there, his head heavy in his hands as sunset fell. For an instant, he felt he was home. That was when the planet's mysteries revealed themselves.

_I stood out here once before_

_With my head held in my hands_

He wasn't home at all. There was something about this place, though. Rose wanted to comfort him; to know him. His previous companions had never wanted that. They wanted adventure, the fun of it all. Some even wanted him- the glorious part of him that saved worlds.

No one before had wanted to hold the hurting boy inside of him. Before Rose, nobody had ever encouraged him to cry because it would make him feel better.

None of them had begged for his burdens, so that they could suffer for him.

He would thank her in the only way he could. He would share that part of himself that he had never shown anyone. He would let her glimpse his pain, even if he couldn't bear to let her carry it. He could share his burdens without letting her carry them.

She looked into his eyes and he could tell that she understood the gravity of this place. He turned his eyes to the sun slipping below the horizon. Nightfall was almost immediate, and they stood in a heavy silence below the stars.

_For all that I had known of this place_

_I could never understand_

Rose felt his hand slip from hers only to wrap itself warmly around her shoulders. She sank into him, relishing the feel of his cool body next to her. The night was chilly, and she let the cold slip into her, feeling refreshed. She wondered why they were here; it was obviously somewhere very important to the Doctor. With a sudden rush of wind, fires lit all around them. They were large and crackling bonfires, warm and beautiful against the night sky. Her breath caught in her throat. She looked up at his face, and could tell that he was far away in his memories. In the firelight she could see the deep and ancient pain in his eyes. She reached up her hand and ran it along his jaw, pulling him out of his memories and into her arms.

She knew that he loved her. He never said it, and neither did she. It was something that had grown through the years she had been with him. She loved him more than she thought was sane. She wouldn't have it any other way.

She only hoped that she would still be alive when he built up the courage to _show_ it. She really didn't care to be celibate for the rest of her life.

Though the idea of making love to anyone but the Doctor was not even worth consideration.

His hearts beat against her chest, and for a moment she pretended that she had two hearts, too. She pulled back and looked around them again. There was a mist forming around them, circling in the air. She could tell from the Doctor's expression that something beautiful was coming.

The blue mist continued to swirl about, forming into shapes before falling apart and floating again. She gasped as the mist finally began to take shape. Thousands of ghostly figures gathered around the fires, dancing in the night to a tune that she couldn't hear.

"Gelth?" she said, concerned. She hated to break the silence.

He shook his head against her neck. When had his arms wound around her waist? They were usually physically comfortable with each other, but this was pushing the boundaries that he had carefully set.

"Ghosts." He whispered into her ear. She looked at the figures with a new sense of awe.

_On the hills the fires burned at midnight_

_Superstition plagued the air_

They watched for a long time, seeing the sparks rise into the air and the smoke curling around the stars. The figures never stopped dancing. She sighed and leaned further back into the Doctor's embrace.

"Do you want to hear it?" he asked softly. She nodded and felt his fingers on her temples.

All of a sudden music drifted into her mind. She could hear the drums, beating deep and dark in the night. The pipes seemed to sing through the air. She gasped at the beauty of it. There was a sort of mystical energy to it all, and she could feel the urge to join the ghosts in their dance. The melody seemed to sink into her very bones.

All around them she saw golden lights drifting in the wind. The lights flew between the dancing figures and landed on her skin. She felt warmth everywhere and recognized the feeling as the time vortex.

What was this place?

_Sparks fly as the fires burned at midnight_

_The stars are out and magic is here_

She looked up at the stars, seeing the constellations that were both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. She recognized the Pleiades star cluster, though it was so much bigger than she could see it on earth. They shone in half the sky, bright and big as any moon.

She couldn't help but remember wishing to them when she was little. She had asked to see the universe. She had crawled out of bed one night when she was twelve, made her way to the little window seat in their flat. She opened the window and gazed up at the sky.

She wished for adventure. She wished for intelligence.

She wished the hardest for love.

She had found all three in this one brilliant man, and she silently thanked the stars for what they had given her.

_I wished on the seven sisters_

_Bring to me the wisdom of age_

She felt his arms tighten around her and his breath against her neck. All of this closeness was beginning to affect her body. She wanted him, but she was rather sure that things weren't going to end the way she wanted them. He was sharing something with her that was much more important than sex. She turned in his arms, wanting to put his face into this memory. She looked up at him, the golden mist swirling around him, stars above his head and dark trees behind him. His face was shimmering blue from the light of the ghosts around them and the fires reflected in his eyes. He was more beautiful than anything she had seen before.

He was thinking the same thing about her.

He gazed into her face and wanted nothing more than to kiss her at that moment. He wanted to pull her tighter to him and let his mouth explore hers, let them finally be together. He wanted that. But he couldn't do that to her- It couldn't go beyond that kiss. He wasn't sure he had the strength to let her go when she died.

If only he could know for sure what was going to happen in the future. He wanted to be sure that he could live without her, even if he didn't want to. If only he could give her half of his life, she could be there with him. He tore his gaze from her face and looked to the stars, wishing for forever with this one woman. He wished so hard that she wouldn't ever leave him, and when he brought his gaze back to earth, her lips had found his cheek softly. He smiled at her and she turned back around in his arms to watch the fires.

_All that's locked within the book of secrets_

_I long for the knowledge of a sage_

He was beginning to get a bit flustered. Her warm body was so close to his, and the feeling of her soft lips on his skin was just enough to get his imagination going. He closed his eyes against the glow of the fire and willed his body to calm down.

Rose reached her hand up behind her and placed it on his neck, pulling his head over her shoulder. This way she could see the fires and the Doctor's face out of the corner of her eye. It was certainly a plus that this new position pressed his body ridiculously close to hers.

The music grew in intensity and there was something about it that made her heart jump in her chest. It pulled at her emotions, strengthening the love and desire she felt for the man standing behind her. She felt his hearts speed up against her back and her own heart sped to match it.

The fires continued to burn and the ghosts continued to dance, oblivious of their watchers.

_On the hills the fires burned at midnight_

_Superstition plagued the air_

The sparks of time, the only thing that Rose thought to call them, were gathering closer to her. The Doctor didn't seem to notice, but she invited them. She loved the warmth she felt when they landed on her skin.

She looked up at the Pleiades again, still wondering what it was the universe had planned for her. Here she was, tucked tightly into the Doctor's embrace on the most beautiful planet he had ever taken her to. The fire burning in her stomach for him was growing, and she tried to ignore it in favor of the stars. She was going to be content with this moment.

The stars glittered down at her, and she wished that this could last forever. She knew that was a wish that the stars couldn't grant, but she wanted to be with her Doctor for as long as he needed her. She feared he would need her long after she was gone. He had shared with her before that she was the only companion that didn't disappear when the sadness came. She was the only one that would crawl on the sofa with him in the library and hold him as he remembered what he had lost and destroyed.

_Sparks fly as the fires burned at midnight_

_The stars are out and magic is here_

He couldn't wait any longer. He turned her in his arms and looked at her face. He wanted to at least kiss her, even if he couldn't give her more than a kiss to show his love. She would know that he loved her.

His lips fell onto hers and the music seemed to grow in intensity as she returned it with passion.

_The stars are out and magic is here_

Her arms wound around his neck and his around her waist, drawing her in to him. She was pressed completely against his body, from her toes to her lips, and she was swimming in happiness. This may be all he could give her, but she was going to savor it and return his passion tenfold. So she did. She kissed him for all she was worth.

He ran his tongue along her lips and she eagerly opened for him. The kiss continued to grow as his hands began to run up and down her back and her fingers tangled into his hair. She could feel his desire for her against her stomach, and she was sure his Time Lord senses could tell him that she was in the same condition.

He continued to kiss her, stopping every few minutes so that they could catch their breath.

_So the sisters smiled to themselves_

_And they whispered as they shone_

It was during one of these moments that he noticed the golden glow surrounding Rose. He felt the time vortex pull her towards it. She looked up in surprise as all of the sparks converged above her. His arms stayed around her waist. She laughed in joy as they all landed on her and her skin began to glow. She was still laughing when she burst into golden flames, her skin warming his hands.

He didn't have time to be concerned because as soon as the glow had come it was gone. Rose's skin cooled to his touch. It matched his skin temperature.

She smiled up at him, pulling him to her for another kiss that he enthusiastically returned. He slid his hands up her back and felt two heartbeats against his hands.

_And it was from that very instant _

_I knew I would never be alone_

He didn't know how or why, but she had been changed into a Time Lady. All he knew was that now her timelines converged with his. She would be with him forever.

So he kissed her still, knowing that this time they could take it further.

The music grew in volume and intensity and he had the overwhelming urge to join the ghosts in their dance. So he did. He swept Rose up in his arms and began to twirl her to the music, dancing around the fires to the beat of the drums. Her long skirt flew up around them and her hair twirled around her face.

_On the hills the fires burned at midnight_

_Superstition plagued the air_

Her laughter mixed with the music and he could hear his own laughter joining hers. They danced to the beat of the drums; around the fires and with the ghosts. He could feel the emotions building within him, begging to be released. He could feel his love and desire for Rose as they danced; they burned in his chest and begged to be released. He could tell that she felt the same. Their minds met in the dance. For the first time in centuries, his mind was brushed by another and he almost came undone at the sensation.

He was losing control in this dance, the movements becoming more frantic. He felt Rose losing control too, their movements becoming more energetic. They had left the fires behind, now they stood in the trees behind the TARDIS. Their lips met again, and they both gasped at the different sensation. Their minds were connected and their sensations doubled as they kissed.

_Sparks fly as the fires burned at midnight_

_The stars are out and magic is here_

She didn't know what had happened to her, nor did she care as he kissed her with more passion than she had ever dreamed he would. All she knew was that her heart was beating doubly in her chest and his mind had entered hers. He took her lips when she tried to speak, and she put her questions aside. This may be the only time that he would ever do this with her. She wanted to savor it.

His lips moved from her mouth to her neck, and she moaned in pleasure as he began to suck and nip at the skin there. Her hands dug into his hair, tugging slightly. She felt her breath coming in pants in response and flicked her tongue against his ear. She shivered at his answering groan against her neck. His mouth came back up to meet hers, their hot breath mingling in the chilled air between them.

As his tongue roamed her mouth again, she began to fumble with the buttons on his jacket, pulling the brown pinstripes down off his shoulders and onto the ground. He didn't seem to care, as he was just as preoccupied with her shirt buttons. She tugged at his tie, leaving his mouth to return the favor he had bestowed upon her earlier, suckling at where his shoulder and neck met. He moaned into her hair and finally got the last button undone on her shirt.

His tie met her blouse on the ground and he pulled her close to him for another heated kiss. She felt the cool air against her skin on her back. His rough hands ran up and down, eventually tangling in her hair to get a better angle on her mouth. She shivered at the feel of his chest clad in only his dress shirt. There were so few layers between them now. She couldn't believe this was actually happening.

She had had enough of his teasing and pushed back a bit so that she could get to the buttons of his dress shirt. His hands fumbled with the clasp of her bra, undoing it and returning to their place in her hair as he kissed her still. She managed to get the shirt undone and growled in frustration when she felt his t-shirt underneath.

His breathy chuckle in response to her frustration was either arousing or annoying. At the moment she was far too flustered to figure that out. She pulled back and glared at him.

"Why the hell do you wear so many layers?" she asked, yanking at the shirt to get to his skin. He helped her pull the garment over his head.

She looked up at his face and was caught for a moment in his gaze. The starlight seeped through the trees they were standing under and illuminated his face. The music was still present, faint, but burning in her veins underneath her desire for the man in front of her.

He pulled her unclasped bra off of her shoulders and reached a hand up to cup her right breast. "To frustrate you, love."

She gasped at his use of the word 'love', but was cut off when he began to kiss her again. His hands on her were causing a dampness to grow between her legs. She ran her hands along his newly exposed chest, feeling the muscles rippling beneath her fingertips.

She pressed herself closer to him, a bolt of pleasure running through her body when he put his arms around her back and she felt her bare breasts brush his bare chest. She tore her mouth from his to emit a long moan when his hands ran down her back to cup her bottom through her skirt. She ground against his hardness, enjoying the sensation and his deep groan in response.

"Oh, Rose. You are the only woman in the universe that could do this to me." He said, allowing his fingers to ghost under the waistband of her skirt.

She panted against his chest, feeling herself get even wetter. "You're the only man I will ever want, my Doctor." She said, loving the gasp that sounded in her ear at her words.

She trailed her hand down to cup him through his pants, his hips bucking into her in response. "Rose-"he moaned into her neck. She proceeded to unbutton his trousers and pull the zip down before pushing them off of his hips to crumple around his ankles. He kicked off his trainers and his trousers, leaving him in nothing but socks and pants. She smiled at the sight, happier than she thought she could be. She never thought he would let her be with him like this.

He slipped her skirt off of her hips and cupped her bottom through her underwear. She allowed the sandals to slip from her feet as he released her to situate his jacket on the ground. He laid her upon it, looking down at her as if she were the only person in the world. She could feel his love in her eyes, and feel it in his mind.

"Rose, let me make love to you." He asked, his eyes deep and serious.

She pulled him down for a kiss and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Oh, yes." She replied.

He smiled and allowed his tongue to probe her mouth leisurely before his hand reached down to rub her through the soaked fabric of her underwear. She moaned into the kiss and raised her hips to follow his hand when he pulled back. He kissed his way down her body before meeting the only barrier left between him and her core. He pressed his nose to her, inhaling deeply.

The Doctor, nearly naked, with a tent in his pants and his nose buried deep between her legs, was the most erotic thing she could imagine. His fingers hooked in the sides of her underwear, pulling it slowly down her legs. His eyes met hers and didn't look away until her underwear had joined their pile of discarded clothing.

She moaned loudly at the feeling of his long fingers caressing her clit. She bucked into his hand, feeling pleasure course through her. She knew that she wouldn't last long if he kept that up. She grabbed his hand before allowing her own to pull at his pants, trying to get them off. She tugged them quickly down his legs, eager to have him inside of her.

He helped her, pulling his socks off as well before covering her naked body with his own.

They were finally here. There would be no going back. Rose pulled his body down to hers and the tip of his cock brushed her clit, causing her to cry out. He kissed her mouth quickly before meeting her eyes and taking her hand, lacing their fingers together.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked.

She glared up at him. "If you don't make love to me in the next five seconds, I'm going to be the cause of your next regeneration."

He grinned and slowly slid into her. They moaned in unison, her legs coming up to wrap around his waist. She had never felt anything so good in her life. He was filling her to the core. She bucked her hips up to encourage him to move.

He began to thrust into her, knowing that he wasn't going to last too long. He felt pleasure greater than any he had known flow through his body, heard her moans like music in his ears.

Soon they were building together, their pleasure feeding the other's as they worked toward their climax. She bucked into him in time with his movements, feeling her orgasm approaching quickly.

"Oh- Doc-Doctor!" she shouted into the night.

"Rose! He moaned into her shoulder. So close. They were so close.

His fingers released hers and found her clit, flicking it and bringing her closer to her peak.

She shouted his name as she came, muscles clenching around him. He let himself go.

"Rose-ah- ah-AH!" he shouted as he came, thrusting deeply into her and grasping her hips. She could feel his release deep inside her and the waves of pleasure continued for several minutes.

They finally collapsed, exhausted. He lay on top of her, still inside of her warmth.

As they came down from their high, he whispered into her ear. "I love you."

She grinned, her heart soaring at finally hearing the words from his lips. "I love you, too. My Doctor."

He slid out of her and lay on his side, pulling her body to his as they basked in the afterglow.

Several minutes later, they redressed and walked back to watch the last few minutes of the ghosts. Daylight was quickly approaching.

Content in his arms, with her back resting against his chest, she asked him about the planet. "Who are these ghosts?"

He shook his head against her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her skin. "I don't know. No one does. They've been forgotten. But they're here every night, dancing to the music. "

_Many stars were long forgotten_

_Many faded and became ghosts_

Rose shifted her gaze to the stars once more, smiling at the events that had happened since the last time she looked at them, only a few hours previous.

She still felt two heartbeats in her chest. She thought it was the excitement of the moment, but something was definitely strange.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?" he asked, clearly still preoccupied with the skin on her shoulder.

"Why do I have two heartbeats?"

He froze. He had forgotten completely about the events before their love making. She had changed into a Time Lady. But she didn't know that, did she?

He cursed himself for not telling her earlier. He had been so caught up in his happiness that he had neglected to tell her what was going on. She turned in his embrace.

_Still my sisters glittered down from heaven_

_Always there when I needed it the most_

"Weeeelll, um…you see, Rose, I don't really know." He continued at the concerned look on her face. "You've changed. By changed, I mean that something has turned you into a Time Lady. You're not human anymore. I don't know what caused it, but I'm not about to question it. I should have told you when it first happened, but I was so caught up, and I- I'm so sorry." He finished, looking into her eyes.

She seemed to be processing this new information. "So, by Time Lady, do you mean one of your people?"

He nodded cautiously.

"Those gold spark thingies. That's what changed me?" she asked.

He nodded again, not sure if there was a better response.

She continued. "And will I live as long as you now?" she asked.

"I'll have to run some tests to be sure, but our timelines have converged, so I think so."

She smiled at that. The next question took him completely off-guard.

"So, will we be able to have children? Can we save your species?" she asked, looking up at him with hope in her eyes.

He hadn't thought of that. They could…they could have children now. Rose could have his children. They could get married. They could save his race.

_On the hills the fires burned at midnight_

_Superstition plagued the air_

She saw the hope light in his eyes at the mention of children and relief flooded her mind. He wanted that with her, then? Thank goodness.

He pulled her in for a hug and she felt tears wet the side of her face.

"Rose, how many times are you going to save me?" he said. She pulled him closer.

"As many times as I can." She replied. They stood there for a long time.

_Sparks fly as the fires burned at midnight_

_The stars are out and magic is here_

The golden lights that had changed her were gone, and the light of sunrise was beginning to peek over the horizon. The stars were still glittering, though, and the ghosts still danced. Their music was headed for a final climax, the drums beating and pipes singing loudly.

_The stars are out and magic is here_

"I've been here once, Rose." He said. She listened quietly, knowing that he needed to say this.

"I came here the night after Gallifrey burned. I stood here, mourning my planet and feeling so very alone."

_I stood out here once before_

_With my head held in my hands_

"I brought you here tonight to share that with you. To take you somewhere I had gone in my moment of greatest pain, so that you could see how much I trusted you. I couldn't place the burden of my love on you, when you would have to leave me someday. Now, though, you can have all of me. We have a forever, and that changes things. I would have always loved you. Only now, I can tell you."

She smiled at him as the sun rose. The stars disappeared and the grass burned orange. The ghosts ended their music in a final note, and the fires whooshed away with a great wind, just as they had come.

"I will love you forever, Doctor."

He pulled her in for a gentle kiss.

_For all that I had known of this place_

_I could never understand_

A year later they returned to that planet, wedding rings on their fingers and roundness in Rose's belly. They watched the ghosts dance as they had that beautiful night.

_On the hills the fires burned at midnight_

_Superstition plagued the air_

They made love under the trees as they had the year before, this time much slower and gentler.

_Sparks fly as the fires burned at midnight_

They wished on the stars together, because in Rose's womb lay the fate of Gallifrey.

_The stars are out and magic is here_

Twenty years later they built a home in that field with their seven children.

_The stars are out and magic is here_

Nobody knows when they died. Their stories were so interwoven with time that they lived forever. The TARDIS sang through the universe for eternity, with her beloved Doctor and Rose.

_The stars are out and magic is here_

Their numerous children created a new race of Time Lords. They restored the TARDISes and became known as the protectors of the universe.

_The stars are out and magic is here_

The planet was named New Gallifrey, and every night its inhabitants would dance with the ghosts.

**A/N: So what did you think? My very first smut fic. I can't believe I actually wrote it. It seemed like the appropriate song. If you haven't heard it, I recommend looking it up. It's worth a listen. **

**Reviews help me write faster. Seriously. It's like writer steroids. **

**Much love,**

**Doctorrosetyler**


	3. Beyond the Sun

Beyond the Sun

By: doctorrosetyler

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Shinedown's masterpiece "Beyond the Sun"

Summary: Rose wants to learn, and he wants to teach her. Things evolve from there. 10/Rose

Rose sat on the captain's chair, observing his movements carefully. She had never really noticed before, but his gibberish as he was fixing the TARDIS sounded kind of like actual words, but in a different language. He crawled out from under the console, springing up to read some of the swirlies on the monitor before returning to his previous position. She held back a laugh when she heard an electric buzz and the Doctor's responding squeak. She frowned a bit when the squeak was followed what would have been swear words if he had spoken in English.

She was convinced now that he was speaking his original language, Gallifreyan.

What was it like for him to never hear his own language? Did he know English or did the TARDIS translate it to Gallifreyan for him? If the TARDIS's translator broke, would she be able to understand him? Would he be able to understand her? She felt a twinge of sorrow in thinking about that. What would it be like to not be able to talk to him? It would be awful (but probably a bit relaxing…he did have quite a gob, after all).

She got up off the chair and walked over to the monitor, trying to make sense of the curly figures on the screen. Were they numbers? Letters? Cartoons? She didn't know.

"Hey, Doctor?" she said, still staring at the writing on the screen.

"Yes, Rose?" he said, remaining in his spot under the console. She went to sit at his feet, so that she could see his oil-splotched face. She loved it when he got his hands dirty.

"Do you speak English?" she asked.

He looked at her with surprise and a bit of confusion. "Yes, I'm speaking it right now." He replied, eyebrows furrowed.

"No, that's not what I mean. If the TARDIS broke, would you know English? Would we still be able to talk?" she said, her fingers playing with the hem of his trousers.

"Yes, of course. I know most of the Earth languages. The TARDIS translates for you; I don't need it most of the time." He said, crawling out from under the console to take her hand.

"Why do you ask?" he said, lacing their fingers together and placing them on his knee.

She looked up at his face. "Do you ever hear your language anymore? Is that what those curly letters are on the monitor?"

He looked at her, obviously caught off-guard with her question. He didn't know that she ever thought about languages much. None of his other companions ever had.

But then again, she wasn't really just another companion, was she?

"No, I don't hear Gallifreyan except for the TARDIS. Only the Time Lords spoke it."

She saw the look of pain in his eyes and regretted asking him. She didn't want to make him hurt, especially for something as silly as curiosity. Maybe she could help, though? She scooted closer to him on the grating, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt his arm go around her waist and snuggled a bit closer.

"I know I'm just a human, but do you think I could learn? Would it be good for you to speak it again or would it hurt?" she asked, afraid to hurt him with asking but even more afraid that by not asking she would miss an opportunity to help.

He felt his mind pause for a moment. The thousands of thoughts and calculations going on in his head halted. His beautiful pink and yellow human wanted to learn Gallifreyan?

She would learn an entire language just so that he could hear it again.

The pain of losing his planet dulled for a moment so that his hearts could jump in his chest for her. Of course he would teach her. He would give her anything, if only she would ask.

"Of course you can, If you want to learn." He said, his calm tone hiding the intensity of the emotion he was feeling.

She smiled and relaxed into his embrace. "I do."

"How do you want to learn?" he asked, not sure of her language capabilities.

She closed her eyes. "Just speak to me."

He smiled, resting his head upon hers, and began to recite a poem in Gallifreyan.

_Speak to me so I can understand your tongue_

_You seem rather fragile_

She listened to his soothing voice and the lilting, musical, language passing from his lips. She had thought his voice was sexy in English. It was positively _mouthwatering_ in his language. She couldn't wait to learn it.

There were syllables that she couldn't even begin to pronounce, but she assumed that would come later. For now, she set her mind to memorizing the tones of the language. She had always had a bit of a talent for singing, and for that she was glad. It would come in handy.

After a while she realized that he was repeating something. It sounded like a poem or a song. She began to pick up on the words. She spent several times through memorizing the lines. The next time he began, she began with him.

She actually _felt_ his breath hitch in his chest when the first few syllables fell from her mouth.

Was it strange for an alien language to feel more natural than her own?

He stopped speaking altogether and just listened to her. She had learned the poem so quickly; even he was astounded. He felt his eyes sting as the familiar syllables washed over his ears. He hadn't heard his language from another's lips for centuries. He didn't let tears fall, but he listened to her recite for at least an hour, occasionally correcting her pronunciation of the words.

It was quite a while before they were interrupted, the TARDIS repairs forgotten. He stopped her when he felt her stomach rumble under his fingertips. Now that he thought about it, he was actually pretty hungry, too. She looked to him questioningly, like she was afraid that she had done something wrong. He flashed her a brilliant smile, and he could see the relief in her face.

"Fancy something to eat? We could go cook something. Or we could stop off by the solar diner in 5459. Other side of the sun and all. I've heard it's a bit cold, but I bet it's beautiful." He couldn't seem to stop speaking, couldn't quite figure out what to do with all of this romantic tension in the room. He wanted to kiss her. He couldn't let himself kiss her.

She smiled up at him, eager for the next brilliant adventure. "Sure! Sounds great! I'll go get my coat, yeah?"

He nodded, helping her up and running off to clean the oil and such off of his hands. He couldn't help the knot of excitement that built up in his chest. No matter how many times he told himself that this was _not_ a date, he knew he would never believe it.

_It's been said it's cold beyond the sun_

_Have you ever been there?_

He was as in love with her now as he imagined was possible for a man. Everything she did made him fall in love with her more. Would he ever stop falling and just be in love with her? He doubted it.

Despite still trying to deny the date-ness of their next outing, he put on a tie that he knew was her favorite- a blue one with silver stripes on it. He spent an extra few minutes on his hair, making sure it was in that tousled style that she liked so much. Making sure his glasses (which he knew she loved) were in his pocket, he slipped on his blue trainers and met her in the console room.

She came out and his breath caught in his throat. Her blue dress and silver shoes matched his tie. How did she do that? Her blonde hair was hanging free over her shoulders and midway down her back. It had grown in the years she had been traveling with him. She had done her makeup lightly; just the way that he liked it. She was wearing a silver necklace that he had bought her a few weeks prior for her birthday. She was breathtaking, and he was having a very hard time not saying "to hell with dinner, let's have a shag". He didn't, of course. He didn't do things like that with companions.

No matter how much he wanted to do it with Rose.

"You look lovely." He said softly, taking her hand in his and kissing it like a gentleman.

She blushed a bit before replying "You're rather dashing yourself, Doctor."

He grinned and led through the open TARDIS doors.

They were standing in a great hall of windows, the sun burning beautifully on one side and the stars sparkling on the other. At the end of the hallway was a large dining room, of which Rose couldn't see much yet. She took the Doctor's offered arm and he led them to the room.

Flashing his psychic paper for a reservation, he got them in and the waitress seated them at a table with a lovely view of the sun. He ordered for them, as she really couldn't tell what "brined mullef of a huppleplump' was, but he assured her that she didn't want to eat that.

The waitress left them alone, with a jealous glare at Rose and a flirtatious smile at the Doctor. Rose felt a burst of satisfaction when he didn't even look at the waitress in question; he only stared at Rose with a half-goofy smile on his face.

"Rose, what made you want to learn Gallifreyan all of a sudden?" he asked; his gaze curious.

She thought about it for a moment. She certainly couldn't tell him the part where she was in love with him and wanted to know more of him. She left that bit out. "I can't imagine what it would be like to never hear English. I mean, I don't know the difference when the TARDIS translates in my head, but you're telepathic, yeah? You can tell. You hear every language in the universe but your own…" she trailed off for a moment; a deep sadness in her eyes that he knew was for his benefit. She continued a moment later, shaking the expression from her face and putting a smile there instead. "I thought maybe you would like to hear it again. If you teach me, we can just use Gallifreyan to speak."

His hearts did another jump for her. How could she, a human who has never experienced his life, understand him better than he understood himself? He took her hands in his across the table. "Thank you." He told her, allowing the barriers in his eyes to drop for a moment so that she could truly see how much she meant to him.

She blinked tears from her eyes at this and they broke apart when the waitress rudely slammed Rose's plate down in front of her. The Doctor shot a glare to the woman, who flashed him another flirtatious smile before putting his plate down in front of him gently. He looked back at Rose, incredulous.

"That woman is a complete nutter." He said, digging in to his food.

Rose laughed a bit at this, picking up her fork and taking a bite of…whatever the Doctor had ordered her. It was delicious, whatever it was. He always knew what she would like. "You know, most men are completely clueless."

He looked up with surprise at that. "Clueless about what?"

"When they're being flirted with."

He quirked his eyebrow at her. "She was rude to you! For no reason! Her manager will be hearing about that."

She shook her head. "She was flirting with you the whole time."

He took a stab at his…whatever that was…and sighed. "That's the way to a man's heart, is it? Being rude to his companions during a very good conversation?"

She laughed. "No, she was being rude to me because she was jealous."

"Jealous of what, exactly?"

"Of me!" she replied. Could he really be that dense?

"Why?"

"Because she thinks we're a couple!"

He rolled his eyes at this. "Well, I'm not interested in her, so for all I care she can think we're bloody bonded!"

She felt a stab of sadness at that. They could pretend to the outside world that they were together, but he would never be with her the way that she wished he would. She pushed her sadness aside. This was the way things were, and she would take all he would give her without complaint. "Bonded?" she asked. He never mentioned much about his culture's customs.

"Like married, only…more." He said, avoiding her eyes.

Now she was really curious. "What do you mean more?"

"It's the way they married back on Gallifrey. At least they did, before the looms. People would marry, and then they would "bond". It's a telepathic thing."

She could tell that he really wanted to tell her, but he wasn't being very forthcoming with this information. Relationships had always been a touchy subject between them. They never had other partners, but they refused to call themselves a couple. Maybe he was afraid that if they labeled it, he would lose her? She knew why he couldn't let it slip past 'friends'. He would lose her one day, regardless of their relationship. If it meant saving him pain in the end, she would live with this distance forever. Even if she never had sex again. She shuddered a bit at the thought.

"This…bond. What was it?" she asked gently, not wanting to make him uncomfortable with her questioning.

"It was sort of like joining the minds. Actually, it was…just like that. Couples who were bonded could read each other's thoughts, feelings, everything. They were open books to each other. They were also inseparable, which is why it was outlawed. Men wouldn't leave to fight in the Time War if their wives couldn't be with them." He told her this, looking straight into her eyes. Their dinner forgotten, she listened carefully to every word he said. She felt herself wanting this bond more than anything. But if they couldn't be together in the human way because it would hurt him in the end, certainly this bond would be far more painful for him to break when she died. If anything was forbidden, this was certainly it. "So, these bonded people didn't even have to talk? They could speak telepathically?" she asked him.

He smiled. "We can speak telepathically without the bond" he said, only his lips didn't move. She gasped. She felt him in her head, like a slowly burning flame in the back of her mind. She loved it; didn't want him to leave. The fire cooled and died, and she was left feeling bereft and confused.

"Was that you?" she asked.

He smiled. "Yeah. Useful in danger, isn't it?"

_Communicating thoughts of ways to never have to speak again_

_Let me be the fire in your head_

She laughed and reached across the table to smack him in the head. "All this time, you could do that and you never did! It would have saved me a couple bruises!"

He ducked her hand and laughed with her, their conversation returning to its light-hearted mood. "I hadn't told you I could do that when we weren't in danger. Don't you think you would have been rather confused if you suddenly heard my voice in your head with no explanation?"

She nodded. "You bloody alien, you should have told me years ago."

He took another bite of his food, and chuckled in his throat. "Probably. Always forgot."

"That big Time Lord brain, with thousands of thought trains simultaneously, and you forgot?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey! I never said I was perfect!"

She laughed. "Not in so many words."

They continued their meal in relative silence for a while, until Rose thought of something.

"I'm not telepathic." She said.

He looked at her, confused as to where she was going with this. "Not technically."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What does that mean, not technically?"

"Weeeellll", he said, putting his glasses on, "You're human, so not a telepathic race. But you took in the Time Vortex. It changed you. So, you're human…but not human. You're a telepathic human."

She considered this for a moment. "So I can talk to you in your head?"

He nodded. "But you wouldn't know how to do it, of course."

She felt a stab of indignation at that. If she had the capability to do that, she would certainly figure out how. She smiled to herself as the waitress came back with the check, glaring at her and still drooling over the Doctor.

Her Doctor.

She left without saying anything, only giving Rose one last angry glance.

They had finished their meal long ago, comfortable with reminiscing over old adventures. The waitress seemed rather annoyed at them for staying, especially since every time she came over the Doctor ignored her in favor of Rose.

Rose thought now would be a good time to attempt to use her 'telepathic capabilities' that the Doctor thought she had. She concentrated really hard at him, looking directly into his eyes.

He looked at her, confused, before his eyes widened. She felt the fire in her head again, and this time she had started it. "Wouldn't know how to do it, Doctor?" she thought to him.

His mouth opened and closed, and he looked at her with a completely confused face. It was a long moment before a smile of absolute pride spread across his face. "My Rose, only you would be stubborn enough to figure it out on your own!" he thought to her. She felt the link grow stronger with his participation and smiled at the feeling.

The Doctor glanced away and saw the waitress coming back to their table, a determined look on her face. Determination was never good. Not when it involved competition against Rose. He smiled at his companion and sent her a thought. "Here she comes again. Shall we give her a show?"

She smiled and nodded to him. Before she knew it, he had broken the link and leaned over the table toward her. She could hear the waitress's footsteps approaching and saw what he wanted her to do. She leaned toward him and he captured her lips with his.

They were both so instantly caught in the kiss that they didn't hear the woman's snort of disgust or her angry growl when she saw the size of her tip. They continued to kiss for what was much longer than necessary, before breaking apart and fumbling for their coats. Trying to act like nothing had happened; they left the restaurant and headed back to the TARDIS.

_Bring what's yours; I'll take what's mine_

_And meet you on the other side_

She went to her room and changed into her pajamas, trying to act as though nothing had happened. Sure, that kiss was just for show. But they both knew that it meant so much more.

Was that the only time she was ever going to kiss him? When it was convenient for their mission, when she was dying, or when she was possessed? That wasn't the way that she wanted to live with him. She wanted to kiss him because she _felt_ like it. But that wasn't going to happen, was it?

She looked around at her room, full of her things from home and others that she had gathered in their travels. Her room at home was almost completely empty. Her mum was sad about that, but they visited often. Some of the Doctor's things were in here as well. He never slept much, and usually followed her in here when she went to bed. He would tinker quietly with his gadgets as she slept, and it comforted her to know that he was there with her.

Her mum called her often, and sometimes he would pick up the phone for her if she was asleep. A few times she had woken during these conversations. He would tell her mother what they had been doing lately, and one time he had ended it with "Goodnight, mum."

He had called her mum "Mum". He considered Jackie his mother. Was that a good sign? She could never tell with him. She never let him know that she heard this. It would lead to a conversation that could only end awkwardly.

_We'll leave a sign so anyone can find us_

_A better place, a sweeter time_

They spent the next few months floating around the Milky Way galaxy. They went to beautiful places; party planets, giant gardens, Jurassic Park (which she and the Doctor had saved from a rather horrible accident that she was sure belonged in a movie somewhere). Everywhere they went, he taught her new words in his language. Soon they could converse almost entirely in Gallifreyan. She could tell that hearing it did wonders for his moods. He was almost always smiling now. It made her heart soar to think that she could do that.

He took her to a beautiful low-gravity planet. They flew through the clouds, hand in hand, and he taught her the Gallifreyan word for 'heaven'.

Was it a coincidence that he chose that word to teach her right then?

She hoped not. It was heaven to her, too. If only he would kiss her again.

_We won't need any wings to fly_

_A place beyond the sun_

They visited Jackie a few days after their trip to the low-gravity planet. Rose was surprised when they walked through the door and her mum hugged the Doctor _first_. Not only that, but he hugged her back. When had that happened?

Other than that odd event, the trip went on as normal. Well, as normal as it could be while learning an alien language and forgetting to say things out loud for the benefit of the only non-telepathic person in the room.

It was on the fourth day of their visit that Rose began to notice something. Up until then, the Doctor cut off their mental link when they were through talking, and they had to establish it again. She always felt horribly lonely when his mind left hers and the wonderful burning stopped. She wanted nothing more than to feel that all the time. It was becoming an addiction for her; that and watching the Doctor's face as she spoke to him in Gallifreyan. She loved the language so much that she used it almost exclusively around him, sometimes forgetting words in English. The mental link helped her to speak to him in his language; it was like his knowledge supported hers. She had just noticed something rather odd.

The Doctor stopped cutting off the link.

He left their minds connected, and didn't seem bothered by it in the least. Maybe his big Time Lord brain could handle the link with hundreds of other thoughts and not be bothered, but her human mind certainly noticed. She didn't want him to break the link, but she wanted to know what it meant that he was suddenly leaving it open. Her telepathic abilities had been growing now that they had begun to exercise them, and she was able to catch snippets of his thoughts. He knew this, and yet he kept the link. What did that mean?

Jackie was getting rather annoyed at their new method of communication. She missed parts of conversations and couldn't stand the 'racket' that the Gallifreyan language made. The Doctor explained to Rose that it sounded beautiful to them because they could hear the music along the sounds. All Jackie could hear were hisses and tongue-clicks. It drove her nuts, and she had no idea about the telepathic communication. What would her mum say?

Connecting her mind to his was much more intimate than anything she had ever done with a man. Granted, they were 'just friends' and he was much more trustworthy than any other man she had ever known, but she knew the mind link was intimate for him too.

What if this link turned into a bond? She would love that- but he would hurt so much when she died.

She was blindly searching for his love. She knew that it was there, but she dare not ask him to reveal it. The worst thing he could do to himself would be to give his hearts and mind to her. If he chose to do so, however, she would do everything she could to be worthy of that gift.

She knew he would give it to her if she asked.

_Look for me the way you would if you were blind_

_Don't be so resistant_

The question popped out suddenly and without provocation. They were sitting on her mum's sofa late one evening, cuddled up to one another (in a friendly way, of course) and conversing in Gallifreyan. She laid back against his chest and, without thinking, said "You used to close the link when we stopped talking. How come you leave it open now?"

His breath stopped in his chest. She tried to cover by rambling. Maybe they could pretend she had never asked? "It's not like I don't like it, it's convenient and comfortable. I like having the link. I mean, it's just strange of you to be so comfortable. Not that you can't be comfortable-" she stopped herself. "Bugger."

He laughed a little into her hair. He had known this question was coming for a while, and he was both anticipating and dreading his own answer. "I…can't close it." He said.

She turned to look at him fully, reverting to Gallifreyan. "What do you mean, you can't close it?"

He bowed his head in shame. "I didn't mean to, Rose. It was a complete accident. It was a mistake to open it to begin with, but…I mean, if you had been only a friend it would have been fine. But we both know you're not just a friend." He finished, his voice fading towards the end.

"What happened?" she asked. When he didn't reply, she tilted his face to look at her."Doctor?"

He looked into her eyes, guilt clouding his mind from her. "I…bonded us. In my sleep. I'm so sorry, Rose. You're stuck with me."

Normally she would have been struggling to contain her joy, but the sorrow in his eyes doused her excitement. "Can you undo it?" she asked.

The flash of hurt in his eyes made her instantly regret choosing those words. "No! I mean, I don't want you to undo it! I just…it'll hurt you." She said.

The hurt in his face dissipated, but his brow furrowed in concern. "No, it feels…amazing. Why would you say it will hurt me?"

She felt tears come to her eyes when she considered the scenario that would befall them in sixty years or so. "I'll die. And it'll tear your mind apart."

_I've been known to travel much too fast_

_Is that you in the distance?_

His face broke into a wide smile. She didn't expect that particular response. "Well, we're just going to have to find a way for you to live forever, then, aren't we?"

She grinned and nodded. "So you're not going to leave my mind again?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I can't. You're stuck with me, Rose Tyler."

She laughed. "Good."

They snuggled together a little more, and Rose was left to ponder what this meant for their relationship. She hadn't expected bonding to be so…easy. She thought that they would be closer than any two people could be. So why weren't they one mind? She was pretty sure that hadn't happened. The Doctor seemed to sense her concern.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed against his chest "It's not what I expected."

She felt him gulp. So, he was hiding something, then.

"It's not complete." He said.

She pushed away from him so that she could see his face. "How do we complete it, then?"

He looked away and blushed.

Ah. She understood now.

_Communicating thoughts of ways to never have to speak again_

_Let me be the fire in your head_

He didn't want her? No. He loved her, she knew this. He never said it, but she knew. If he loved her, then surely he wanted her. So, why was he so…shy about it? He wasn't a virgin, and she certainly wasn't either. He answered her question without her having to ask it. Or did she ask it? It was hard to keep things straight with the telepathic link. Sometimes she sent stuff she didn't mean to.

"I'm not doing that until I ask your mum."

She looked at him with surprise. "My mum? Doctor, I'm 24 years old! And I've certainly had sex before."

His eyes got very serious. "You've never been married before."

Shock coursed through her. So, he was asking her to marry him? Of course! He had said bonding was like marriage. She was…getting married? To the Doctor? How much more bloody domestic could you possibly get? Despite these thoughts, she felt a smile spread across her face.

"So, you're proposing to me then?"

"More like presupposing, really. I kind of already married you." He said this so nonchalantly that she almost missed the guilt in it.

"Doctor, don't you dare beat yourself up for this!"

He looked up at her, clearly trying to mask the self-hatred she had been trying to heal for years. She continued. "I _love_ you, Doctor! Nothing could ever make me regret this! Don't tell me that you don't want this, too. If you don't, then you don't have to marry me. We'll stay friends. Bonded friends." Even as she said this, she knew it wouldn't be true. It would kill her to be 'married' to him and never be with him properly.

It wasn't until she saw the surprised look on his face that she realized what she had said. Yes, he knew she loved him. But saying it out loud made it real. "Rose, if I didn't want this, if I didn't love you, I could not have bonded us. Not even by accident in my sleep. It takes deep emotional ties to create a bond. Much deeper than friendship."

She almost lost everything he had said after "love you". Luckily part of her brain was paying enough attention to remember. She felt a smile break out on her face and she leaned in to give him a chaste kiss. He returned it gently.

There was a shuffling sound in the hallway and they broke apart abruptly. The Doctor dashed for the remote, flipping the telly on and knocking over a vase of potpourri in his haste to return it to its original place. Jackie walked in the room, raising an eyebrow at the spilled vase.

"What are you two still doing up? It's almost one in the morning!"

Rose shrugged. "I guess it's the weird sleep schedule I keep."

The Doctor chimed in proudly "she's moved to only one REM cycle every 36 hours!"

Jackie sent him a glare for using scientific abbreviations at such an ungodly hour before shuffling into the kitchen for a glass of water. Rose found that this was a good time to release her laughter at his antics.

"Just what were you hoping to accomplish with that?" she laughed.

He bent down to pick up the bits of potpourri that had spilled onto the carpet. "What would you mother have thought to walk in here and see us like that?"

"She would have come to some very right conclusions."

He quirked his brow at her. "And what conclusions would those be?"

"That you had just confessed your deep and undying love for me." She teased.

He looked back up at her. "You're right. She would have come to the correct conclusion there."

She blushed under his intense gaze. He looked away and went back to cleaning up the potpourri. Not without complaining wholeheartedly, though.

"What is the purpose of this stuff? Looks like breakfast, smells like your auntie!" he griped.

Rose laughed. "You _so_ stole that from a TV show."

He laughed with her.

_Bring what's yours; I'll take what's mine_

_And meet you on the other side_

"So, Rose. When should I ask your mum?" he said when he plopped back on the sofa beside her.

"Ask me what?"

They both froze. Jackie was standing in the entryway to the kitchen, a very curious look on her face.

"Well, out with it. Ask me what?" she pried.

The Doctor glanced at Rose and knew there was nothing for it. Standing up, he marched over to Jackie and took her right hand in both of his. She looked thoroughly confused now, looking up at him questioningly. The Doctor took a deep breath.

"May I marry your daughter?"

Jackie froze for a moment before starting in on him. Though this wasn't exactly the type of nagging he expected.

"Well, It's about bloody time you proposed. Here she's been, waitin' around, givin' you the best years of her life, and you just go sauntering about the universe"- she cut herself off. "Of course you can marry her, Doctor."

The Doctor laughed happily and Rose came up to his side. He put his arm around her shoulders and Jackie thought they looked just like she and Pete had looked.

They said their goodnights and headed off to bed.

_We'll leave a sign so anyone can find us_

_A better place, a sweeter time_

Despite her mum's intense protests, the Doctor and Rose chose to have a small wedding on the low-gravity planet they had visited so long ago. Rose and her mother went and bought her dress the next day. She was drawn to a white gown with dark blue trim. It was plain for the most part, with a square neckline and long, flowing sleeves. It wasn't too large in the skirt. The trim formed a sash around her waist and the neckline. She wouldn't have normally chosen a dress like that, but for some reason she felt it was appropriate. Jackie was just excited to buy her daughter a wedding dress, nevermind how strange the choice was.

While they were shopping, the Doctor went to collect Jack. He agreed to represent the Doctor's family, since he had no living relatives. Though he didn't show it, he felt deeply honored to be invited to the wedding of the last Time Lord in existence. He'd get to see Rosie in a pretty dress, too. He got a smack at that thought.

Ah. The Doctor could still tell when he was thinking lecherous thoughts.

They married the next day on that planet they called 'heaven'. It was a short, simple ceremony uniting the last of the Time Lords with the human that had saved him. There was no reception, but her mum got to take all the pictures she wanted.

_We won't need any wings to fly_

_A place beyond the sun_

They didn't have a "honeymoon" per se, but they dashed off in the TARDIS as soon as they delivered Jackie and Jack back home. They stood in the console room, a married couple. This wasn't what Rose had imagined, but it was perfect. He took her face in his hands.

"Rose. Do you know what that dress looks like?" he asked.

She shook her head, eager to have an explanation for the expression on his face when she walked down the aisle toward him.

"That is almost an exact replica of the wedding gown of Gallifrey. Where did you find it?"

She smiled. "I saw it in the dress shop. It just seemed to fit."

He laughed. "That's my Rose."

They were silent for a moment before he spoke softly.

"Are you ready to finish the bond, Rose?"

_Communicating thoughts of ways to never have to speak again_

_Let me be the fire in your head_

She nodded to him. "Absolutely."

He led her to his room, where they made love softly. As they joined their bodies, their minds followed. They became one person- the Doctor and his Rose. The Bad Wolf and the Oncoming Storm. The TARDIS approved, singing a song throughout time and space.

_Bring what's yours; I'll take what's mine_

_And meet you on the other side_

_We'll leave a sign so anyone can find us_

_A better place, a sweeter time_

_We won't need any wings to fly_

_A place beyond the sun_

Afterwards she lay against his chest. She breathed his name softly- his _true_ name. And he smiled.

**A/N: So, what did you think of the third installment? I've got a few more songs lined up, but I have some other plot bunnies running around. Either away, I'll be posting again soon! I've been writing a lot lately! **

**Reviews are writer's crack! : )**

**With love,**

**doctorrosetyler**


	4. Dance With You

Dance With You

By: doctorrosetyler

Summary: On a beach in Fiji, everything comes out under the light of the moon and to the tune of a distant drum. 10/Rose

Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor who, there would be no need for me to be using this site. I don't own the song "Dance With You" by Live, either.

It was dark. The moon was high in the sky, casting a sliver glow upon everything that lay below. The waves crashed against the shore and the warm breeze drifted over his face as he held her close. Rose was asleep in his lap. Her warm breath ghosted across his thigh and her fingers twitched in his. His heart swelled with happiness.

He was afraid to close his eyes, lest this be a dream. He ran his fingers through her golden hair, resisting the urge to touch her temples and dip into the dream she was smiling about. Her contented sighs made a smile spread across his face.

_Sitting on the beach the island king of love_

_Deep and Fijian seas, deep in some blissful dream_

Some distance away, a beach party was going on. He could see the fires and hear a bit of the music. He and Rose were mostly alone on their small stretch of beach. The water was drifting closer to them, the tides coming in. He didn't want to move.

Rose hadn't slept for days. That was mostly his fault, though. They had just escaped execution on the planet Pentulach. They had been trapped in a cold cell for two days, during which they had little to sleep or eat. He was fine, Time Lords did not get cold and they could go months without eating and barely be bothered at all. Rose, however, was hungry, cold, and almost sick from their captivity.

He had been cut deeply in the back by one of the guards. He was bleeding profusely for quite some time, and Rose wouldn't let herself sleep for fear that he would need her. Though he assured her that he was fine and that she could sleep, she insisted on staying awake with him.

When he had finally gotten them out of there, he expected her to go to her room, shower, and sleep. Instead, she begged him to take her somewhere warm.

So, here they were. Sitting on a beach on Earth, Fiji. It was summer. She had run directly into the water in her clothes, laughing as the warm ocean carried the grime from the cell away from her. He joined her in the ocean and they played and laughed together in the waves until the sun set.

They talked for a long time, her head resting on his shoulder and his arm around her. She slowly drifted off to sleep, her head eventually sliding down into his lap.

He loved that she was so comfortable in his embrace. He was so in love with _her_. He wished that he could be with her properly. Love her as a human man could.

He wasn't afraid to do that anymore. Her life was slipping through his fingers so quickly that he feared wasting any more of her time dancing around the subject. He just wasn't sure what a new level would do to their relationship. They would be closer than ever, but would she really want that?

He knew she loved him, but would she want to be with him for the rest of her life? Would it hurt her as much as it would him when she aged and left him looking eternally young? He couldn't bear giving her a life of pain, even if it gave her a life with him.

He supposed the only thing that he could do was to ask her. He didn't want to just be her friend anymore. He wanted to be her lover. No more pretty boy passengers.

He would satisfy all of her needs, wants, and desires. He would love her for the rest of her life…and for the rest of his. He planted a soft kiss to her head as she continued to sleep.

When that guard had cut him…he had been cut before, didn't think much of it at the time. He would heal fine and they would move on. But Rose…she had gone mad. Her anger surprised him. He was supposed to protect her, not the other way around. He had to yank her along with him to make sure she didn't stop running, but the entire time she was yelling at the man. He had never heard such words come from her mouth. She was angry for him, and that wasn't something that he was used to. He had never been hurt so badly with her around, and when they were finally captured she nursed his injuries so carefully, so lovingly, that the pain was almost non-existent.

_When the goddess finally sleeps in the lap of her lover_

_Subdued in all her rage_

As she slept softly in his lap, he felt contentment rush over him. He couldn't remember the last time he had loved his life. The pain that he tried so hard to hide was slowly shrinking, all because she was with him. She healed him.

He had been in love before, but never like this. His identity had always been his, solely dependent upon himself. Now he was so tied in with this girl that he couldn't figure out who he would be without her. She loved him (she didn't know he knew, but really, how could he not?) and saved him and became so much a part of him that losing her would be like losing himself. He couldn't be the Doctor without his Rose. How could he be John Smith again without his lovely assistant/companion Rose Tyler?

He didn't want her name to be Tyler anymore, though. He wanted it to be Smith. He didn't want her to be his companion anymore. He wanted her to be his everything. Wife, lover, life partner, best friend, whatever she wanted to be. As long as it was for forever. She would never just be a visitor aboard the TARDIS. It was her home now.

_And I'm aglow with a taste of the demons driven out_

_And happily replaced with the presence of real love_

_The only one who saves_

He looked up at the stars above them, still stroking her hair as she slept. He basked in the moment, committing this feeling to memory. In two hundred years, when she was gone and all he had were memories to hold him, he would imagine this moment and remember true happiness.

No, they weren't together. He hoped to change that. But they were very in love. He would do anything to have her with him forever.

He watched the people in the distance, dancing around in the darkness, and their silhouettes against the fires reminding him of ghosts in the night. She shifted in his lap and he found himself praying she would sleep a bit longer. When she woke up she would move off of his lap, and he was far too comfortable at the moment.

The tide was coming in, sweeping a few feet away from where they were sitting. He would have to wake her soon. But not now. He could hold her just a bit longer under the stars.

The distant drums carried to his ears over the wind and an image of Rose in his arms, dancing to the tune under these very stars, would not leave his mind.

The Doctor doesn't dance.

Unless it's with Rose.

When it's with Rose, he'll do any sort of dancing there is.

His ninth self had been so against domestic, so against anything that seemed couple-y, that he wouldn't have dreamed of a life with Rose. He wanted her around for a long time, for sure, but not as anything but a companion.

His ninth self had loved her too, but he had been far more afraid of it.

This body, however, didn't mind domestic. He wanted it, craved it, with Rose. Only Rose. He didn't want a house with carpets or anything, but he certainly wanted the love that he could have with her. If they were stranded on a planet, he could handle it if she was there with him.

He had seen thousands of people live day to day boring lives. He could do it. There was a sort of quiet grace in being 'normal'. They were solid. He was a traveler; he didn't really exist anywhere. His only identity had been burned with his planet. He carried it in his mind and heart, but now his identity was sleeping in his lap.

If a normal life on earth, with a house, and a mortgage, and a job, was what she wanted, he could do it. He would do it for her. He could give up his travels for her lifetime and just be what she wanted. He could be a loving husband in a small apartment downtown.

He could even make this regeneration age.

When she died, this regeneration would die an old man and awaken for the eleventh time as a new man. He could do it. If that was what she wanted.

But for now, he shrugged his jacket off his shoulders in the cooling night and laid it over her. His fingers ran through her soft hair and he wondered what her hair would feel like in his fingers as they made love.

_I want to dance with you_

_I've seen a world where people live and die with grace_

The ocean pulled back for a moment before rushing in to tickle his toes. He would have to wake her soon. Maybe he could dance with her then?

Would she want to dance with him?

He leaned down and pressed a small kiss to her temple as she shifted in his embrace, her toes tingling from the brush of the waves. His lips were feather-light and when she opened her eyes she had no idea that they had ever been there at all.

"Good morning, Rose." He smiled at her bleary eyes as she turned and stretched before settling back in his lap, this time laying on her back so that she could look up at his face.

"Good evening, Doctor." She smiled back at him. Was it just her, or was there something different in his gaze?

The water rushed up again and surrounded them in a tide of swirling sand and foam. She sighed at the feeling of the warm water against her skin.

She looked down at the half-soaked jacket on her and then smiled up at him. "You really are sweet when you try to be."

He smiled at that and took her hand. "Care to dance?"

She looked up at him in surprise before nodding. They stood and he put his arms around her waist. She placed her around his neck and leaned close to him, as close as she dared, but not close enough. He pulled her closer and began to move to the faint tune on the breeze.

_The karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace_

_I want to dance with you_

She saw the moon in the sky over the ocean as she rested her head on his chest. What was happening? There was something different in the air tonight. She allowed her body to sink into his, feeling him sigh into her hair. This was perfect. His cool body was pressed closer to hers, his arms tight around her.

So he didn't dance?

He was so good at it. She could feel the slight muscles of his chest move up and down with his breath and his right heart beat soundly in her ear. It felt so intimate, with her arms around him. Without the jacket, he somehow seemed more human- not that she ever wanted him to be human. She loved him as a Time Lord, even the parts of him he hid from her because he was afraid she would leave. She felt closer to him now than she ever had before.

She knew what they were doing right now. They were hiding from the world. In this perfect dream place, where she could be in his arms like a lover, they were hiding from the fact that she would die and he would live. Their lives were beautiful- amazing- the stuff of legends. But she would eventually age, and it was all going to end. So that's what they were doing. They were hiding from the end.

She could handle that. As long as her hiding place was in his arms.

_I see a sky full of the stars that change our mind_

_And lead us back to a world we would not face_

He pulled back slightly so that he could look into her eyes. They were so calm, so beautiful in the night that he almost lost himself. He could drown in this beautiful woman.

She smiled at him. He knew then that she was ready for this, too.

He had lived his life scoffing at love. The things he had said about the couples he saw kissing in the park, or old married people holding hands as they walked down the street- the words that he had released from his mouth were ridiculous.

He had been an idiot.

Before he gave his hearts to Rose, he had never known what it was like to really love someone. He had thought he knew. He thought it was overrated, that it was simply for a few moments of sexual pleasure that would end.

He was so wrong. Love was about holding someone and losing the world in their eyes. Love was about that careless freedom that allowed that person to be the only thing that mattered. Everything real floats away, and all that is left is that solid warmth to hold and cherish.

_The stillness in your eyes _

_Convinces me that I, I don't know a thing_

He had traveled the universe for 900 years and never met anyone like Rose Tyler. Every place held something new, something brilliant. There were sights beyond the imagination, smells that could bring him to his knees, and nothing made his hearts beat faster that when he had her in his arms.

She leaned into his chest once again and reveled in the tightening of his arms. The music was so faint that she could barely hear it, but the waves crashed against the shores and the wind whispered in the trees. It was like the universe was pushing them together in the night. She felt his chin rest on her head and smiled into his shirt. It smelled like earl grey tea and the impossible traces of time. She could lose her whole world- her whole universe and be content in the arms of this one man. Did he know?

_And I've been around the world and I_

_I've tasted all the wines a half a billion times_

Oh, he knew. But it would be heaven to hear her say it.

He felt it. The moment he had been waiting for. Time and the universe were directing him and for the first time in his life, he wasn't going to fight it.

He pulled back from their close embrace and let his hands brush the hair from her face, settling on her cheeks. Her eyes were questioning, but he could see the excitement in them. He felt his heart racing in anticipation.

He pressed his lips to hers and the world melted away.

She pressed herself closer to him, her heart leaping in her chest.

Finally.

He was surrounded by her, everything that was Rose. Her hair tickled his face in the breeze, her breath mingled with his in the air between them. Her taste coated his tongue and he delved into her mouth for more. She opened for him eagerly, gluttonous for more of him.

Her scent filled his nose and he fell.

He had thought he was already in love with her as much as he could be. He fell harder and faster than he ever had. He didn't just love this woman. He _needed_ this woman.

He felt the tears on his cheeks and gently pulled back.

Her eyes were glistening and her cheeks were streaked, but she was smiling. He felt his own lips pulling back in a grin.

Her taste was still on his tongue and he needed more. He pulled her to him again, kissing her gently once more. Nothing he had ever done could compare to this.

It was in that moment that the fear in his hearts dissolved. Life wasn't just for protecting. It was for living.

And he would live every second of his with Rose. The universe would try to take her, and the universe be damned. She would live with him and she would live forever.

_Came second to your shores_

_You've shown me what this life is for_

They were no longer dancing and the music had long ago stopped. The tides, now up to their knees, began to ebb once again. The cool night could not pull them from their world as they continued to kiss in the moonlight.

They pulled apart for the hundredth time, and he ran his thumb across her lips. He leaned close to her again, his forehead touching hers and whispered.

"I love you, Rose."

She sobbed and pulled him in for another long kiss.

"I love you too, Doctor."

He pulled her to his chest and began to sway as they had been before, holding her hand close to his chest. The scent of her shampoo filled his nose and he stored this memory in his mind forever.

"Stay with me, Rose?"

She sighed against his neck. "Forever"

He let go of her hand in favor of wrapping both of his arms tightly around her. "Forever won't be easy"

She sighed. "I know."

He licked his swollen lips and smiled when he felt her arms tighten around him. "I'm going to find a way, Rose."

"A way to what?" she asked.

"To make you live as long as me."

She felt her heart soar at that. "I thought you never got involved with your companions."

"Those companions weren't you."

She buried her nose in his neck, kissing the skin there and smiling.

The sun began to rise and they made their way back to the TARDIS, his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist.

This was much better than hand-holding.

The lights were dimmed as they made their way through the door to the console room, almost as if the TARDIS understood what had just happened between them. The Doctor turned to her, seeing her yawn. An hour-long nap on the sand was not enough sleep for his exhausted little human.

"Would you join me in my bed tonight?" he asked her, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

She nodded, kissing him on the cheek before heading to her room to grab some pajamas.

She wanted nothing more than to spend the night in his arms.

_I want to dance with you_

_I've seen a world where people live and die with grace_

She walked down the dim hallway to his bedroom- the bedroom that she had never seen. No companion had ever seen the Doctor's bedroom. He had told her that once when she had asked. Now he had invited her into the most private place on the ship. She felt special. She felt cherished. She felt loved.

She didn't even have to knock. As soon as she got to the door, it opened and he stood there on the other side, his hair a wet mess from his quick shower. She entered the room quietly and marveled at the deep red and gold colors.

"The shower is in there if you would like to get the beach out of your hair." He smiled lightly and gestured to a large wooden door. She went in and began to shower.

She used his shampoo and body wash and as she used his towel to dry off she marveled at how she smelled like him.

She slipped her pajamas on quickly and went back into the bedroom, where the Doctor was reading in his bed. She crawled in next to him and pulled the covers up onto herself. He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss.

_The karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace_

_I want to dance with you_

When they broke apart, he held his arms out for her and she gladly snuggled into them. He turned the lamp off and they laid back in the darkness. Without warning, the entire room burst into motion with the images of stars and galaxies. She gasped and relaxed into his embrace.

"It's beautiful"

He laughed. "I think the TARDIS is glad you're in here. She usually tones it down a bit."

Her eyes were tired and she tried to keep them open. A yawn escaped her and she felt his lips on her forehead.

"Rose, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake."

She nodded and allowed herself to slip into a deep, contented slumber.

_I see a sky full of the stars that change our mind_

_And lead us back to a world we would not face_

He let himself relax back into the bed as she slumbered in his arms. This was it. This was when it would all change.

He had known that it would come someday, the day that they stopped pretending to be friends and finally let themselves be in love.

Everything that he had been in the past, he needed to let it go. His anger, the Oncoming Storm, it would all get in the way of his life with Rose. He would have to face his demons.

As Reinette had said about him years ago, Rose was worth the monsters.

He ran his hands up and down her back, feeling her breathing in her sleep. Her wet hair was soaking his shoulder, but the warmth of her body against his took the chill away.

_In this altered state_

_Full of so much pain and rage _

_And oh, we've got to find a way to let it go_

Hours later, she woke to the sound of soft snoring. Rose sat up in his loose embrace to find that her Time Lord was sound asleep beside her. His face was relaxed and a smile was light upon his face. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips before settling back down in his arms. He breathed her name in his sleep and she smiled.

He began to stir and she felt a pang of sadness that such a perfect moment was ruined. That thought was immediately dismissed as his lips descended upon hers. Her arms automatically wound around his neck as he shifted his body above hers. His weight on her body was warm and comforting. She held him to her, not wanting to lose the feeling.

"Rose" he whispered as he pulled back for a moment.

She felt her breathing begin to speed. "Hmm?"

His breath was just as quick as hers. "Would you like to dance?"

She laughed a bit at that. "What kind of dancing?"

He pressed his body down into hers. "What kind do you think?"

She pulled his lips to hers. "I would _love_ to dance."

He smiled and continued to kiss her deeply.

_Sitting on the beach the island king of love_

_Deep and Fijian seas, deep in the heart of it all_

Their joining was soft and slow. He worshipped her body as he removed her clothes, kissing every bit of exposed skin and telling her how much he loved her with every breath. She had never felt so loved in her life.

She felt her heart soar when she realized that she would never be with another man. She would be with the Doctor for the rest of her life. She would never have a need for another.

She removed his clothing just as gently and breathed her love into his skin. His moans of pleasure were deep and long, and she knew that he hadn't done this in a very long time.

He assured her of that fact before pulling her to his naked body just so he could feel her against him.

He promised her forever as he took her gently. She promised him the same and prayed that she could keep that promise.

_Where the goddess finally sleeps _

_After eons of war and lifetimes_

They were joined for a long time; he worshipped her with words as they built slowly towards their peak. She was the first over the edge and she cried out his name as she came. He followed her soon after, her name upon his lips. He remained in her for a long time, covering her naked body with his and pressing kisses to the soft skin that had been hidden from him until now. She lay beneath him, smiling.

She felt free in her love for the first time. She ran her fingers through his hair, speaking her love for him over and over again. Because she could.

She felt a song in her mind and began to hum along to it.

The Doctor recognized it as the bonding song of Gallifrey and knew the TARDIS had supplied her with it. He closed his eyes and took in the bliss of her body so close to his, the feeling of still being inside of her. He could feel the vibrations of her soft voice as she hummed absently.

_She's smiling and free, nothing left_

_But a cracking voice and a song of love_

They had so much left in their future. She would be with him for as long as she lived- he wouldn't let her be taken from him. The next day, they began their search for her forever.

He told her his real name and gave her a Gallifreyan name of her own.

_I want to dance with you_

_I've seen a world where people live and die with grace_

They stopped searching for eternal life five years later, when they realized that she wasn't aging. The universe had blessed their union and Bad Wolf had made her life tied to his.

_The karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace_

_I want to dance with you_

They rejoiced in their love for years to come and danced often, in both senses of the word. They had children and he was no longer the last child of Gallifrey.

_I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds_

_And lead us back to a world we would not face_

And the waves continued to ebb and flow with the tides, their footprints fading but their love not forgotten.

**A/N: So, what did you think? This song was done by my favorite band, Live. I have a few more of these in the works, but I haven't been writing so much lately. I kind of got stuck in a bit of writer's block, so I reverted to my favorite band. Let me know what you thought! I do love reviews!**

**With love,**

**doctorrosetyler**


	5. Out of the Great Book of Fairy Tales

Out of the Great Book of Fairy Tales

By: doctorrosetyler

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor who or Naio Ssaion's brilliant song "Out of the Great Book of Fairy Tales"

Summary: He was different. She didn't care. Ten/Rose (caution: the Doctor's back story is not going to be anything close to canon, so be prepared for that)

Many many years ago, there was a young boy. He was new at the Gallifreyan Academy. He had no friends, and this wasn't because he was new. It was because he was strange. He hadn't been made in the looms like all of the other children. His mother and father, both Time Lords and both very much in love, had conceived him as nobody had done in centuries. His mother had carried him and given birth to him, and because of this he was different. His parents gave him a name that, when translated into English, would be nothing but a meaningless list of colors: blue, white, and yellow. In Gallifreyan, those colors were emotions; stronger than any others. His name was lovepassionhappiness.

They loved him dearly, something which wasn't openly expressed in Gallifreyan culture. They were the "perfect race". They didn't feel emotion. But his parents did. Instead of shipping him off to Academy the moment he could talk, like most Gallifreyan parents did, they raised him. They nurtured him and taught him to love.

And then they died. And he was sent off to Academy, where the Time Lords hoped he would forget emotion. They did not want him to mar their supreme race by being the one who could _feel_.

_In a distant land there lived a young boy_

_And bluewhiteyellow was his name _

He was fourteen when he learned he had a special gift.

Centuries before he was born, the Gallifreyans had lived like the humans had. They laughed and loved and formed strong bonds with those that they loved. They were a strong, telepathic race that had a great capacity to feel. And they felt in color.

Then they discovered time travel and the vortex. They became the Time Lords and declared themselves a superior race. They stopped forming telepathic bonds, as it interfered with their ability to control the vortex. They could not see clearly through the rainbows of emotion. In time, they learned to close off their emotions. Then they stopped feeling them.

That is, until his parents. They discovered the bond and fostered it. They wanted their son to love and to escape the unfeeling society that was Gallifrey. And he loved. He loved his parents, he loved his home, and he loved his friends. It caused him pain, because the only people who ever showed him love in return were his parents. And now they were dead.

At the Academy, he was shunned. The other students didn't know why they didn't like him. Only that he made them uneasy. It was in one moment of need, one moment of incredible desire for comfort and love and _home_, that the boy found out why he was so different. He sat in his bed as the other boys in the dormitory played games and studied. None of them missed home, because none of them loved. They didn't feel sadness because none of them had felt happiness. The only comfort he could draw was from a lullaby his mother sang him every night. So he sang it softly to himself, under his breath so no one could hear it.

He didn't know that they could feel it. His telepathic abilities and the capacity for emotion his parents had carefully nurtured strengthened the song. It unblocked the carefully constructed walls the Time Lords had built in the minds of themselves and their children. A rainbow of emotion clouded the room. The students, who now knew why they avoided the strange boy, fell to the ground. They couldn't see through the colors behind their eyes. They didn't understand why their hearts felt different. They didn't recognize emotion, even when they were forced to feel it themselves.

_He was born with one _

_One special gift indeed_

_It was making rainbows_

After that incident, nobody spoke to him. He learned to never sing. He learned, though he would always feel emotion, to act the part. He felt deeply, but didn't show it.

He would try to make friends, believing that if he showed these people kindness that they would someday return it. His father had taken him to Earth when he was five. It was there that he met humans and learned kindness from his father. They spent a year there, helping people in need. When they returned to Gallifrey, he showed the same kindness to people he called his friends. After his parents died, he persevered, believing that he wouldn't feel these emotions if nobody would ever understand him. The universe couldn't be that cruel, could it?

But it was.

He would spend his days at the Academy, acting unfeeling and logical like the rest of them. In the warm nights (as it was always summer on Gallifrey) he would sneak out and walk far away from the school, far out of his telepathic range. And he would sing.

The colors always surrounded him and comforted him. The wind would sing through the trees with him and he knew that wind was the only friend that he would ever have.

_Kind at heart like his father_

_His friend was summer wind _

He was eighteen when it was all ruined. His roommate, who had noticed that he left every night, was curious as to where he went. He followed and became caught up in the rainbow. He told the Director of the Academy, and they came the next night to spy. In the middle of his song, he was interrupted and thrown into the basement of the school.

He was left alone for weeks, food brought down to him through a slot in the door. And he gave up. He wept for his mother and father, knowing it would hurt them greatly to know his fate. The Time Lords were taking his emotion from him and he was letting them. He couldn't take it anymore. So he built walls. Over those walls, he built more walls, until his hearts were buried behind logic and math and the Time Vortex.

They let him out of that basement and he never snuck out again. He never sang, never cried, and never hoped. He became like them.

Because of this, he gained 'friends'. Though they couldn't be called this, because there was no emotional attachment. There was a logical desire for association, and they fulfilled this.

He became the greatest of his class. He devoted himself to the protection of the Time Vortex. He graduated from the Academy with high honors. It was all going perfectly for him.

Until his graduation ceremony. They looked into the vortex again, just as they had when they were young and first entering the Academy. That glance into the vortex cracked his carefully constructed barrier to his emotions. He looked into the swirling gold of time and felt fear. It was the first thing he had felt since he locked himself inside his mind in that basement, years earlier. So he ran.

He stole a TARDIS, and she became his only real friend in the universe. She had been sentenced for decommission in favor of a later model, and he knew she would not be missed. His TARDIS was grateful to him for saving her, for she was nothing without a pilot. She was a machine, but she was alive and she was the only thing that would understand him. So he threw himself through the vortex and she sang in his stead.

He had his ship, one who would go anywhere he asked to go. So he returned to the planet that understood him. On Earth he shed his name and became The Doctor, in hopes that, by bearing the name of a healer, he could heal himself.

She was with him when the Time War began and ended, in an instant and in millennia, and she landed him on an uninhabited planet as he realized he was alone. He lowered his mental barriers one last time and sang to the universe. The dark and horrible colors of sadness and rage and pain came and swirled through the air.

The trees whimpered with the song and the stars wept, as lovepassionhappiness died. And the Oncoming Storm was born.

_And he sang _

_Every time when somebody opened their heart_

_When he sang the rainbow began_

Many years later, The Doctor lay on a grassy hill with his companion. It was a warm summer night, like those he had found solace in so many years ago. Rose's head was on his shoulder and he could feel her happy murmurs as she made up constellations in the unfamiliar sky. He laughed with her, feeling genuine happiness and basking in it. He thought back to the suffering he had endured. When had he ever believed he could be this happy again?

"Doctor?" she asked, the seriousness of her voice interrupting their light-hearted conversation.

"Yes, Rose?" he replied, curling his arm tighter around her as if to warm her, though the night was plenty warm already.

"You said something the other day…about flying the TARDIS. Is she really meant for six pilots?"

He lay his cheek on the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair as he answered. "Well, she really only needs me. I can fly her alone." He grinned. "But everything's better with two."

She let out a small laugh at that, turning over on his chest to look him in the eye. "You said something the other day…I think it was to the TARDIS, but you said it in English…I don't know that I was meant to hear it."

He gave her an encouraging look while checking his memory for things he may have said out loud on accident. She continued. "You said you couldn't see, which didn't make sense to me, because you were pressing buttons and levers fine."

He knew what she was talking about. He had been trying to navigate a particularly difficult area of the vortex when Rose had walked in. He had thought she was asleep, so he was unprepared for the emotions she always stirred up when he saw her. Those emotions created colors, and they clouded his vision and senses for the vortex. He had urged the TARDIS to help him tamp down his response, because it was difficult to see through his haze of surprise and adoration. He could have sworn he said that in Gallifreyan.

In the three years he had been with Rose, he had slowly begun to remove the walls around his hearts. The lifeless and hard man the Time Lords had made him, and the sad man the war had forced him to be, was no longer who he was. He began to feel again, the colors of his emotions both comforting and frightening after over 800 years of silence.

He still didn't sing; hadn't sung for happiness since he was caught that night. Sure, he sang along to the various songs on the radio, but he didn't really sing. He didn't show emotion the ancient Gallifreyan way. After so many long and lonely years, it was enough just to feel again.

And oh, did he feel. He felt so much for this human in his arms. And now he had a choice. Tell her a lie; that he had had a headache, or the TARDIS mistranslated. He could do that. Or he could tell her the truth. He could tell her those intricate details of his heritage. He could tell her of his parents that loved and ruined him as a Time Lord, but made him as a man. He could tell her that sometimes they floated in the vortex for days (days he called a mini-break and movie marathon time) because he couldn't see through his own love for her enough to fly.

_A million stars were up and shining_

_When something strange occurred that night_

He did something he had never done before. He took the harder route. He told her some of the truth, because she wanted to know and he wanted her to know.

"I'm a Time Lord." He said to begin. She blinked.

"Yes. I know that." She looked at him, confused and waiting for a real answer.

He sighed. "I'm a Time Lord, Rose, but that's not my heritage. It's a title. I am a Gallifreyan. Full-blooded. Only I'm different from the other Gallifreyans."

She quirked an eyebrow at that. "Oh?" she asked.

He smirked. "Yup" he said, popping the p. "I have a belly button!" he grinned.

She smacked him on the shoulder. "I was expecting something really cool, and all I got was something completely normal."

He grinned and tugged her back to her previous position with her head on his shoulder. "Normal for you. You humans are born from your mothers, all of you. There isn't a choice. On Gallifrey, sex just isn't necessary. It was actually frowned upon, so much so that only one couple in three hundred years did it. Gallifreyans aren't born, Rose. They're loomed." He paused, unsure as to whether or not he should tell her the rest. His last barrier to his heart was his asexual manner, his kind but unemotional image. If he told her, she would know that he could feel.

He wanted her to know. He wanted her to know his secret, so that whether she stayed with him forever or chose to return to Earth (which he doubted would happen, since she had let slip that she was in love with him to a world-saving acquaintance the other day…she didn't think he had heard it, but he had) someone would know who he was, and that he wasn't just the Doctor. His hearts burned for him to tell her. He loved her, too, after all. He loved her so much that he wanted her to stay forever, even when she would die in the blink of an eye. So he continued his story, this time watching her face for reactions as she turned in his arms to watch him.

"I'm the only Gallifreyan in centuries to be born, Rose. My mother and father went against the rules of our society and made love. They formed a mental bond, which was just short of illegal, and they had me the old fashioned way." He explained, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. He had someone else now, someone to share his burdens with. She asked every day that he talk to her and tell her his thoughts and feelings. It was time he accepted her offer and gave her the love she deserved to feel from him.

Rose snuggled a bit closer to him and propped herself up to look at him better. She knew that this was hard for him to do; to tell her of his past and let her in. She loved him a little more for allowing himself to be a little vulnerable to her.

"My parents loved me. Most parents on Gallifrey sent their kids away as soon as possible, so they could get an education. Nobody cared that their kids were gone; nobody loved enough to miss someone. They didn't feel." He looked into her eyes and let her see the deep hurt he had felt those years ago, though the wounds had healed to scars because of her. "I did."

"So what does feeling have to do with not being able to see?" she asked, wanting to understand what he was getting at.

"Gallifreyans feel in color. When it gets very very strong, we can't see properly and it makes navigating the vortex very difficult. That's why the Time Lords learned how to stop emotion in the first place. My parents taught me to love and they loved me. My father took me to earth when I was little, and taught me how to ignore the emotion blocks that Gallifreyans were born with. He taught me that it was good to feel." He continued, though he knew he had answered her original question. Once he had begun telling her all of this, he found it was impossible for him to stop.

Rose smiled at his answer and the mention of his parents, knowing that he had been part of a loving family once, and that he remembered. His next statement, however, sent silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

"And then they died."

She let the tears fall for him, and to her astonishment she saw tears in his eyes as well. "I loved my parents. I was the only child on Gallifrey that could feel loneliness. And I was the only one that was truly alone. They didn't like me. I was weird. I didn't act logically, like everyone else. I acted on my feelings like my parents had taught me." He paused for a moment, fighting back the bitter feelings the memories brought. The ghosts of his pasts haunted him, but he knew that Rose's light would scare them away.

_It was a little ghost, wanted to make him cry_

_Until forever_

"Eventually I learned to stop feeling. It hurt too much, and it was better to feel nothing at all than to be in constant pain. I became a Time Lord. I thought I was doing well, and then I looked into the Time Vortex. It changed something in me. It opened part of the wall I had built over my emotions, and it changed me. I stole a TARDIS that wouldn't be missed, and I let myself become a failure."

Rose opened her mouth to protest, but the look in his eyes made her stop. He needed to say these things. They could argue over his "failure" status later.

"The Time War came and I was the only one who could end it. I was the only one who would do what was necessary. If I hadn't acted, the entire universe would have died, except for Gallifrey. Trillions of lives would be lost for every one person that would live on my planet. The Daleks would have died, but so would everyone else that did not have Gallifreyan blood. So I took it into my own hands."

Rose shuddered at the darkness in his voice, the hatred he held for himself and for his people, for making him a murderer. He looked at her, his eyes black with emotion and shining with tears.

"I killed them all. Every one. And my mind has been silent for centuries."

_Wanted to rule the world _

_With darkness in his eyes _

Rose knew this. She had known this since she had become the Bad Wolf. But the way he said it made her heart constrict in her chest. He was so very alone, and he thought it was all his fault. It wasn't. She wanted to tell him this, but knew it wasn't her time to speak. She wanted desperately to show him what she felt for him. Because she _could_ feel, and now knew that he could as well.

Perhaps the look in his eyes _was_ love, then. Longing looks over the console, close embraces, and chaste kisses. These were not meaningless signs of affection, if what he was telling her was true. He _did_ feel love, and he was the only one of his species who could. He wasn't lying to her when he said Time Lords didn't feel.

But he wasn't a Time Lord, after all. He was a Gallifreyan. A man.

He was a man with twice as many hearts to break, and no one to help him keep them safe. If he would let her, she would do her best to keep him from hurt. He was finally letting her in, and she was going to savor the closeness.

She saw the pain he held every day. The pain he went through of being the only one who was lonely, and then being lonely because he was the only one. The pain of losing his parents at a young age. The pain of loving and losing his previous companions, and the pain of knowing that someday he would lose her, too. He carried all of this, and yet he still managed to smile through his misery.

She wanted to take it away, before the pain could take him.

_And have it all_

_Have it all _

She didn't know what she could say. He had finished telling his tale, and there was now a comfortable silence on the hill. She didn't return her gaze to the stars, deciding the shine of his tears on his face was far more beautiful. She reached up with her hand and wiped them away, barely noticing her own tears fall from her eyes.

"Doctor…" she whispered. His eyes crinkled at the edge with a smile, and his expression softened into that look that she had previously ignored as a friendly gaze. She felt his hand reach up to brush the tears off of her cheeks, and she gave him a watery smile.

He offered her a small smile in return, and she let her fingers brush his hair out of his eyes, resting her palm gently on his cheek. "Does it hurt? The silence?"

Another small tear leaked from his eye, rolling down to land on her fingertips. He gave a nod so small that she wouldn't have known if it weren't for her hand on his face. He remained silent, his breath coming softly from his gently parted lips.

"Can I take it away?" she asked, whispering.

She couldn't read the expression on his face before his lips were on hers. The kiss was so soft, she barely felt it. A hum of electricity danced from his lips to hers as he brushed her lips again. He lifted himself up to a sitting position, his forehead pressed to hers.

"You already have. All the pain I've felt for centuries…those old battle wounds and lonely nights…" he paused for a moment, placing his own hand over hers on his face "I don't have to feel it when I'm with you."

She smiled as her own tears poured down her face, feeling overwhelmed and completely in love with the man on the hill with her.

The stars still twinkled above them, but they took little notice as he kissed her again. He pressed his lips more firmly to hers and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Her arms were around his neck and he felt one of her hands resting in his hair. She pulled back, her heart still heavy in her chest from the raw pain she had seen in his gaze as he told her his story.

"Share it with me." She said quietly.

"Share…?" he asked, pulling back to look at her troubled expression.

"Your pain. I don't want you to carry it alone. I know you can do that telepathy thing. I want to make you better." She admitted, playing with one of the buttons on his jacket.

"Rose…that's…not for emotion. That's for memories. I don't care how much you want them, Rose; I'm never giving you those horrible memories. I don't want my nightmares to be yours."

"Then how do you share emotion?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment. Dare he try to do this with her? He had already given her so much more than any companion, handed her pieces of himself that he never thought he would be giving away again. "I…don't know if I can do that."

She nodded, hiding the hurt from him. He saw it anyway. "It's okay, Doctor. You don't have to do anything. I know it's already uncomfortable for you, sharing so much." She forced a small smile and let her thumb caress his cheek, where her hand had returned after their kiss. "Thank you."

He saw the hurt in her eyes from his refusal, but he also saw the happiness there. Sharing his story with her, of his heritage and his past, had made her truly happy.

He had never imagined that he would find someone who meant as much to him as Rose. He loved her so completely, and he wanted to give himself to her completely. He desperately wanted to give her what she asked, to show her his pain and how she had mended him. If he did this, though, she would know all of his emotions. She wouldn't just know his pain. The rainbow didn't work like that.

She would know his love for her.

As he was contemplating these things, she was building up her courage. "Doctor?"

His eyes became focused, and he looked at her. "Yes?"

She kissed him again, just a short and soft kiss, and paused just a centimeter away, her eyes still closed.

"I love you" she whispered.

So he opened his mouth and began to sing.

_And he sang_

_Every time when somebody opened their heart_

It was soft at first, the words unfamiliar to his older hearts and newer mouth. His heart knew the lyrics well and the Gallifreyan began to rise and fall as it had when he was young. Rose gasped at the sound.

She looked at him, confused. He held her tightly still, carefully pulling down the walls he had built around his heart. Without the crumbling bricks of an old man's regrets, there was now room for her. And there would never be anything other than her.

Rose gasped, feeling something creeping along the edges of her mind. Her heart jumped and then calmed, knowing it was the Doctor and that he would never hurt her.

He paused in his melody. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She nodded, trying to make her body work through the blissful feeling of his consciousness. "Absolutely."

And he thought of Gallifrey. The Time War, his parents, his utter and complete loneliness, and he sang for them. Her sobs broke his hearts, and he soon realized that he was sobbing, too. The song continued through his mind, but his body heaved with grief for his fallen planet and its people. She wept with him, finally understanding him better than anyone ever had or would again.

He hurt because he loved.

The colors danced in her vision, blocking all of her senses but those connected to the Doctor. She could feel where their bodies met, where her hand still rested against his face. All she could see was color, and each color felt different. There were reds, greens, all of the colors she could think of swirling around in her vision. The colors shifted and it was dark, all red and purple and the black tendrils of pain pulling her downward. The Doctor's grip kept her from falling.

She felt his adoration of his parents, and the comfort and security of a warm and loving home. She felt his abandonment after their deaths and horrible loneliness in a world of people that didn't understand. She felt his shame in feeling emotion, and his desperation in trying to control it. She felt his anger at being held captive by the Time Lords, for being punished because he did what was natural for all of them. He showed them how they should be living, and they punished him for making them ashamed of themselves. She screamed with him in agony as he remembered his choice to either kill his people or let the universe perish, and sobbed with him as he remembered that lonely planet where he died and became the bitter and angry man she had first met.

And then she came into his memory, and into his emotions. The colors shifted when he thought of her, and all she could see was blue. Her heart was flying with his, and she gasped at the depth of the emotion he shared with her.

She felt him whisper her name against her neck as his mind continued to sing, their bodies stilling from the sobs. She was too caught in the rainbow to respond.

He _loved_ her. Deeply. At the moment, it was all she could see. Every shade of blue covered his memories of her, and she was lost in the depth of it.

Then it all changed. It went from a serene blue to an intense white and her heart picked up its already rapid pace. Her breath went ragged as the emotion overwhelmed her and all she felt was absolute passion from the man in her arms.

It quickly shifted from the burning white, and she began to laugh. Her vision turned yellow and gold, all swirling around in her mind and her vision and she felt her heart swell with happiness. She heard him, in her mind, singing. Out loud he told her what only she would ever know.

"This is who I am, Rose. This is my name. Only you can know it, in all of time and space. I am the last Gallifreyan, and you hold both my hearts. You are a part of me, and now you are a part of my true identity."

As the three colors of lovepassionhappiness swirled in her vision, she felt tears leak from her eyes once more. His name was not a word, it was _him _and she would hold it close to her heart. She wished she had a secret to give him, something special that only he would ever know. She wished desperately in that moment that she was a virgin, because all she had to give him was her body, and she had foolishly given that long ago.

_When he sang the rainbow began_

_The rainbow began_

His song began to quiet in her mind, and she felt him leaving. She grasped onto his consciousness as hard as she could, desperate to keep him with her.

"Rose, it's all right. I'm here. I've got you in my arms. Come back to me."

She closed her eyes and let go, feeling herself fall back into the darkness of her own humanity. His emotions were so much brighter and stronger than her own, and she wished desperately that she could show him how much she loved him in the same way.

"Doctor…you know I love you…so much." She whispered weakly into his chest, her mind exhausted.

He smiled down at her. "I love you, Rose."

She grinned and fell asleep on his chest under the stars.

He let her sleep, his own mind tired and reeling from what he had just done. He didn't regret it- there was no possible way he would ever regret giving Rose his name. She was his, and he was hers, and things would always be that way.

There was a peace in his soul as he looked up at the stars. He had never felt as perfect, as _human_, as he did when she was in his arms. And now he had no reason to ever let her go.

_A million stars were up and shining_

_The storm had quieted down_

_The night had never been so still_

Later that night she woke up in his arms. The night was still warm, and the stars had shifted in the sky. She heard a soft sound and lifted her head from her Doctor's chest to see what it was.

The Doctor was snoring.

He slept calmly beside her, the first time she had ever seen him sleep when he wasn't sick or injured. His face held a peace she had never seen before and she would treasure that moment for the rest of her life.

When morning broke, he woke up to find her gazing at him intently, a small smile on her face. He kissed her gently, and they set off once again into time and space.

He married her in human terms, and they made love frequently and passionately. He sang to her every night, reminding her of who he was and how she was a part of it. Bad Wolf changed her, and she lived as long as he did. They had many children, and there wasn't a person in the universe happier than they.

His name was lovepassionhappiness, and his meaning was Rose.

_And he sang_

_Ever time when somebody opened their heart_

_When he sang the rainbow began _

_The rainbow began _

They lived happily ever after. The End.

**A/N: So, what did you think of it? A bit odd, I know, but I hope it's in a good way! Every time I listen to this song (which now has over 200 plays on my iTunes) I think of the Doctor and Rose on a hill, flooded in color. So this song really did inspire this fic. Let me know what you thought of it! Reviews always help me write better! **

**With love, **

**doctorrosetyler**


	6. The Islander

The Islander

By: doctorrosetyler

Summary: The Doctor pays his respects on a long-forgotten moon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I own the song "The Islander" by Nightwish.

The Doctor stood at the console, his hands shaking on the materialization lever. He had been avoiding this for centuries- this visit to the last bit of his home. Everything in him screamed that this was the time. He had to go now, or he would never again see a piece of home. The small bit of moon that remained would be dead soon, spun into a nearby star with no hope for survival. Rose was asleep in her bed and wouldn't know if they landed gently. He felt it calling him through the vortex.

The TARDIS sighed and groaned, the weight of loss and grief heavy on her as well. She had once been part of a proud generation of time ships, and was now the last of her kind. He pulled the lever gently and they landed softly on the last surviving bit of Gallifrey- a small and battered moon called Finem. It was fitting that this would mean "last".

He took in a shaky breath, refusing to allow his emotions to run away with him on this trip. He would pay his respects and leave. And he would never look back.

He put his coat on over his pinstripe suit and opened the door. The cold winds rushed to meet him, leaving tracks on his face that could be tears, but were not. The doors closed behind him and he stepped out onto the rocky beach.

He took in the smell of the place, the familiar chemical makeup of the air causing a painful twinge in his chest. It was only the smell of ash in the wind that brought him back to the present. He was here for a purpose.

He began to walk along the beach, the cold waves smashing against the rocks the only sound he could hear. It was lonely, desolate, and exactly as he has expected. He paused for a moment and looked out to sea.

_A lone man by the seashore at the end of days_

_Gazes the horizon with sea winds in his face_

This moon wasn't always like this. It had been a beautiful place, full of resorts and restaurants. People would come here on their way home, as a way to relax before they went back to the orderly and strict place that was Gallifrey. He looked to his right and saw an old building, broken and collapsed. He couldn't read the sign on it to even know what it was.

The Time War had destroyed everything. The people that had been here were all wiped out with those on the planet below. Families enjoying a swim, workers preparing meals, and maids cleaning rooms; all were wiped out in the blink of an eye. And it had been all his doing.

Gallifrey was gone. It had burned, and was now dust. With nothing to orbit around, the small moon he was on now became a wandering entity, floating through space and colliding with the remains of his home planet. There were no longer seasons or weather patterns. It was always cold and rainy, and it was always grey. Any life here had died out long ago, for the Doctor had burned up the sun too.

There was only one small bit of land on this moon. It was all rock and barren sand now, the charred and grasping remains of trees the only thing to remind him that there had ever been life here at all. The open maw of a crater housed the empty remains of a dead TARDIS.

That TARDIS was once a home. It was a proud ship that travelled through time and space with its Time Lord. And now it lay there, like a carcass long eaten by vultures. The mist began to thicken, and the Doctor looked once again out to the never-ending sea. He wished he could throw himself into the waves and become dust as his people had at his hand. But his heart refused, for he knew he did not deserve the mercy of death.

And, despite dying nine times, he was terrified of that final darkness.

_Tempest tossed island, seasons all the same_

_Anchorage unpainted and a ship without a name_

Rose awoke in her bed, groggily sitting up and looking around. The usual hum of the ship surrounded her, but the pitch was different. They weren't in the vortex. She rubbed her bleary eyes and threw on her pink dressing gown to go in search of the Doctor.

As she padded down the hallway, she realized that something was wrong. The air was heavy. The console room was completely silent as she turned the corner, and she became slightly worried. She ran her hand gently along the console.

"What's the matter, girl?" she asked the TARDIS.

The ship hummed disconsolately. Rose quickly slipped on her trainers by the door.

"Is it safe to go outside?" she asked.

When an affectionate whirr sounded, Rose opened the door and was met with an icy blast of damp air. She shivered and allowed her body to adjust to the temperature before stepping out onto the rocky ground.

She looked around her, confused by their destination. Why would the Doctor want to go here, of all places? Usually, if he landed the ship at night, it was because he got a weird banana craving or something. She was pretty sure that there were no bananas in this place. She scanned the area for him.

When she spotted him, her breath stopped for a moment. He was standing a small distance from her, his shoulders hard and his face like stone. She could almost envision the burden he held in his spirit as long wings on his back.

Her lonely angel.

She stood there, a few feet from the TARDIS, afraid to move towards him. What if this was something he wanted to do alone? Should she intrude on him, when he probably came here while she was asleep so that he could be here uninterrupted?

She squared her shoulders and began to make her way toward him. She had promised him two things: her forever, and that he would _never_ have to do things alone. Not while she was still with him.

He didn't even notice her approach until she placed her hand on his shoulder. His tense shoulders tightened even more, and he turned to look at her with such pain in his gaze that she felt it like a knife in her heart. He quickly composed himself, though not enough to fool her.

"Rose! Lovely to see you, just doing a bit of exploring. You should go on back to bed though, it's chilly out here. You could get sick."

Though his mouth was blabbering on, his eyes were still like glass. She ignored his words. She listened to his eyes.

"Help me" they said. "I hurt". She could do nothing but pull him into her embrace. He tried to act all jovial, but quickly gave it up. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she gently pressed his head into the crook of her shoulder. It was the way he always held her when she was upset, but didn't want to talk about it. He immediately recognized the embrace and pulled her closer.

It was like a dam broke. He did not make a sound, his breathing was regular, and his hearts did not change their pace. But the robe on her shoulder became wet from his warm tears. There wasn't a sound for a long time but the crashing waves against the rocks. She gazed out at the sea. Rocks stuck out at jagged angles and what looked like the ruins of a TARDIS lay floating in the water. She saw an old boat not far away, made of some kind of metal. The name on it was written in the Doctor's flowing language.

Was this Gallifrey?

She closed her eyes from the bleak place, and held the warm man in her arms tighter. His arms gripped her to him like iron, though it was probably an uncomfortable position for him because of his height. Eventually his grip loosened, and she allowed him to slide away from her, though she pressed a small kiss to his hair as he went.

He gave her a solemn smile and took her hand. She gripped it tightly, the cold numbing her hand slightly. She slipped her other hand into the pocket of her silly pink robe.

They walked along the sea for a few minutes, climbing over rocks. There was no shore here. Soon they turned away from the water and began the climb to a path. The ground was charred and she could see more broken remains of what she was now sure was a place the Time Lords had once lived. She looked up the path and over the trees, Rose saw an old lighthouse. It seemed to be the only thing still standing, though she could tell from far away that it wouldn't stand for long.

"This was a resort." He said quietly, though in the heavy mist the sound of his voice startled her. She remained silent. "The Time Lords would come here to get away from the strict society, to just be themselves. This was the largest moon orbiting Gallifrey. It is the only thing left."

Her heart broke for him all over again, tears stinging her eyes. She refused to let them fall, blinking heavily. She would not make this about her.

He continued moments later. "That lighthouse was the beacon when the sun was on the other side of the planet. People would come here for a few days, Time Lords wishing to recuperate after a long journey. During the last days it was the site of a great battle. We were supposed to be victorious…" He broke off for a second and swallowed heavily. She squeezed his hand in hers, desperately trying to keep him from being caught in the memories. "When we won, the messenger was supposed to go to that lighthouse and light the flame, calling the soldiers home."

They were approaching the base of the structure now, and Rose was in awe of the sheer size of it. It was much larger than it had seemed at the bottom of the hill. This was a beacon, then?

His voice cut through her like a knife. "I was the messenger. Instead of calling them home in victory, I killed them all in order to save the universe. This destruction is from my hands. Nobody was to ever return from the war."

_Sea without a shore for the banished one unheard _

_He lightens the beacon light at the end of worlds_

For the first time, Rose tried to imagine being a soldier in the Great Time War. She would have been out in the depths of time and space, waiting for the signal that she could return home. Instead, she would never see that beacon. She would burn and the man she loved would be the one to do it.

The hand she held had been responsible for the millions of deaths in the final moments of the Time War. He was The Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Death. He was a powerful being of vengeance and pain. She looked up at the pain in his eyes as he stood at the crumbling door to the tower.

He was her Doctor, her love. He had more than suffered enough.

_Showing the way lighting hope in their hearts_

_The ones on their travels homeward from afar_

They began to climb the stairs in silence. She kept her hand in his, tightening her grip. She knew he had killed his people. She knew what he felt so guilty for, and yet she would love him anyway. He was a good man and nothing she saw of his past could ever change her opinion, or her feelings, for him.

She could feel that he needed to do this. He needed to have this final goodbye to his people. She didn't know what he would do when they got to the top of the lighthouse, but she resolved to never let go of his hand again. She would ask him later to look for life-prolonging treatments. Eighty years with this man could never be enough, not when he needed her so desperately. Not when she loved him and promised him _forever_.

The rain dripped through the cracks in the walls, making the stone steps a bit slippery as they climbed. Rose could feel her lungs burning and her legs tiring, but still she continued forward. This was for the Doctor, and she would not ruin this.

She knew now that he was coming to pay his final respects to his people.

They passed a small window and she glanced through it. The rain was coming down along the horizon in torrents, and the thunder rumbled above them. It was like the sky itself was crying out for the Doctor and his species.

_This is for long forgotten light at the end of the world_

_Horizon crying the tears he left behind so long ago_

They reached the top of the lighthouse and looked out over the barren landscape. The rain had reached the little island and was now running in torrents down the side of the tower. Rose could hear the waves crashing on the rocks, and she couldn't help but remember a poem she had read in school. _Rhine of the Ancient Mariner_, it was called. An old mariner killed an albatross and eventually his entire crew ended up dead. She was reminded of the Doctor's situation in that poem.

_The albatross is flying making him daydream_

_The time before he became one of the world's unseen_

"I killed my wife, too." He had been silent for so long now, she jumped slightly at his voice. "My children, my grandchildren. I had everything I could ever want. I had a home, a family, adventure. I destroyed it all."

She felt her throat tighten against a fresh wave of tears. She could hear the self-hatred in his voice.

"You did it for the universe." She said softly, her voice scratchy from emotion.

He turned to look at her with a haunted gaze.

She brought her hand up to hold his cold cheek. If it wasn't for the actions of this hurting old man, she wouldn't be alive. She would have been killed in the Time War as well, or she wouldn't have existed. She met his gaze again and this time a tear managed to escape from her eye.

"Thank you for saving me." She whispered.

He pulled her to him again.

_Princess in the tower children in the field_

_Life gave him it all_

_An island of the universe_

After a few minutes he pulled back to look once more at the small island.

"This place will be destroyed in a few hours. It is going to fly out of this gravity field and speed towards a nearby star. The last bit of my home will be completely gone."

She replaced her hand in his as he continued to gaze out over the dead trees and rocks. She looked behind her to see a pedestal with a small wick in the center. She fingered the small box in her pocket.

They stood there for several more minutes and she knew what she needed to do. The Doctor needed this final act, this moment, some sort of resolution to all of this. He needed to find peace.

She pulled his hand up and removed the small box from her pocket. She pressed it into his palm and he looked down curiously. She felt him tremble when he saw the box of matches in his hand. He turned to the pedestal and released her, standing very still before his long-abandoned duty.

"Call them home" she said softly, and he turned to her with unshed tears in his eyes.

The thunder crashed outside.

_Now his love's a memory, a ghost in the fog_

_He sets the sails one last time saying farewell to the world_

He lit one of the matches, a hissing noise permeating the air. The bright orange flame was the only spot of actual color, other than her ridiculous dressing gown, that she had seen since she stepped out of the TARDIS.

He pressed the flame to the wick and the lighthouse sprang to life. The flame grew bright and strong and the platform began to rise. A blaring horn sounded as the flame disappeared through the roof of the small room. The Doctor rushed to the window and she saw a bright beam of light penetrating the fog outside.

He turned to her then, and she couldn't read the expression in his eyes. He stepped closer to her, slipping the matches back into her pocket. His chilled hand came up to cup her cheek, and he was suddenly kissing her.

She had never been kissed like this before. His hand held her face gently and lovingly while his other arm reached around to pull her tightly against him. She returned the kiss eagerly, feeling the incredible passion in his embrace.

She could feel his sobs more than hear them, his breath coming in short gasps against her lips in between passionate kisses. His tongue swept her mouth and she felt completely and utterly overcome. She let her hands drift up to tangle in his hair, the cold from the island no longer chilling her to the bone.

She didn't know how long he kissed her or when they stopped, but they were suddenly walking down the stairs. The horn still sounded, loud and strong, as they made their way past the window she had previously looked out of. The rain was no longer pouring, but a gentle fog had gathered to cover the jagged edges of the stones and the dead remains of the battle that had once been fought here.

They made their way out of the lighthouse, hands still firmly clasped together. Rose was beginning to feel the chill again and wished she had worn more than a dressing gown out into this weather. They continued down the path they had previously ascended, the fog covering the charred ground and caressing her ankles as they navigated the same rocks they had come by.

Soon she saw the familiar blue of the TARDIS, and just as they approached the ground began to shake. She knew that this was the death of the Gallifreyan moon. It would now plummet to a star. The doors opened as they approached, and the Doctor was working the controls as soon as they were in the door.

_Anchor to the water, seabed far below_

_Grass still under his feet and a smile beneath his brow_

The ship dematerialized and Rose felt the warmth from the ship saturate her being. The TARDIS was thanking her, and she was thanking the TARDIS for surviving for the Doctor. Now she truly was all he had of his home.

The ship was safely in space now, and the Doctor returned to her side and pressed the doors open. There was the final moon of Gallifrey, in the middle of a cloud of dust.

And if she closed her eyes, she could hear the call of the lighthouse.

Come Home.

_This is for long forgotten light at the end of the world_

_Horizon crying the tears he left behind so long ago_

_So long ago_

**A/N: I want to take a moment to thank all of my loyal readers and reviewers. Thank you for sticking with me, even when I don't update for a long time. I promise, I am working on Return To Memory, I have just been so swamped with my Senior Paper and exams and all that. I will get it posted ASAP! Let me know what you think of this one! **

**With Love,**

**doctorrosetyler**


	7. Between Two Lungs

Between Two Lungs

By: doctorrosetyler

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Florence and the Machine's song "Between Two Lungs"

Summary: The Doctor comes up with a way to cheat his way of cheating death. Rose is changed irrevocably, and perhaps for the better.

She had almost lost him.

He lay in her bed, his still sort-of-brown hair matted with sweat. His face, the one that she so dearly loved, was thankfully still the same.

They had faced a formidable alien force this afternoon. They had come across a dead Dalek ship, and the people of a militant planet had harnessed the lasers from the old suits. They were planning to take over the neighboring planets using those weapons. The Doctor had foiled the plot, but one rebel soldier took revenge and shot him.

She had barely managed to get him back to the TARDIS med bay. He was glowing all over, and telling her he might have to regenerate. She knew this, but didn't want him to die so quickly. She asked if there was anything she could do, and he gave her instructions.

So, he had regenerated…partially. He healed himself with the regeneration energy, and put the rest of it into her using a DNA transfer…which she preferred to call a kiss.

Because she was pretty sure a DNA transfer didn't need to involve tongue.

Now, though, she was terribly worried about him. He had regeneration sickness again, and tea wasn't helping this time. He warned her that he would be sick, but he was so very ill that she was genuinely concerned. His sleep was fitful at best, one of his hearts was stopping occasionally, and he kept breathing out a golden mist.

Every once in a while, he would wake, and she would try to feed him, or give him water. He would try to sit up, but he was so weak. He told her he could be like this for a few more hours, or for several days. She was afraid his body couldn't take it for several days. She desperately hoped he would get better soon. She hated to see him in so much pain.

She stayed in her room with him, which the TARDIS had outfitted with a station for making tea and soup. She could feel the ship urging her to sleep, too, but she couldn't. She wanted to be awake in case he needed anything. She was far too concerned to sleep.

He stirred, his eyes opening. They were hazy and she was instantly at his side. He was lying in the middle of her large bed, so she sat beside him and stroked his damp bangs out of his eyes.

"Doctor! How are you feeling?" she pressed her hand to his chest, checking his hearts. They had both started up again, and he seemed to be a bit less pale than he was a few hours previous.

"Not much better." He rasped, and just talking seemed to exhaust him.

"Do you want some water?" she asked. He nodded. He tried to sit up, but found it difficult. She helped him until he was leaning against her shoulder. He was heavier than he looked. She held a glass of cool water to his lips, and he drank. He had to take small sips, and she tilted the glass gently and slowly until it was gone. She placed it on the bedside table and helped him lay back down.

"Thank you, Rose." He said quietly. She stroked his cheek gently with her thumb. It was far too warm, and his skin was moist. He shivered and she felt it through the bed.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through this, Doctor." She said, hoping he would fall asleep soon. He didn't have to be as aware of his discomfort when he was asleep.

He gave her a weak smile. "It's worth it. After all, I am a bit foxy."

She laughed. Even in his condition, he could still joke. "Yes, you are. Please get better."

As he fell asleep, the fever clouded his eyes again. He shifted his head into her lap and muttered, "Yeah…then I can kiss you again. It'd be nice to do it when I'm not dying."

She froze, the word "What?!" right behind her lips. He was fast asleep in an instant, and his hand wrapped around hers. She felt a secret thrill up her spine. That _had_ been a kiss! Genetic transfer, ha! The coward just didn't want her to know he was kissing her. Or he could be just a bit delirious from the fever…

She was feeling a bit strange, too. Sort of giddy. She had been feeling like that ever since the Doctor had passed his regeneration energy into her. It had been odd and (she couldn't help thinking) intimate to breathe his breath as he passed it into her lungs. She felt the tingle of energy as it touched her, and then it turned warm. It was a wonderful feeling, and if she hadn't been so worried for the Doctor she would have basked in it. He had assured her that, because she was human, his regeneration energy would only latch onto the DNA he transferred to her and dissipate. He was positive it wouldn't hurt her, so she wasn't too worried about the way she was feeling at the moment.

_Between two lungs it was released_

_The breath that carried me_

She was beginning to feel very tired. She hadn't slept the night before, as they had gone stargazing and then straight to the planet that had caused them so much trouble. She was worried for the Doctor, but couldn't help her body's craving for sleep. She fought it for a long time.

She didn't want to let this moment end, despite the fact that he was asleep and had no idea how he was cuddling up to her. His head was in her lap and his arms had wrapped themselves around her waist. She ran her hands through his hair and couldn't help but think that, if he weren't so sick, this would be a perfect moment. His occasional shivers and labored breathing ruined the brief fantasy, and she sighed. Her eyes were getting heavier and she wanted nothing more than to lie down beside him and sleep.

Just a quick nap, then. It couldn't hurt.

She carefully shifted him so that he was lying with his head on her favorite pillow. He shifted, inhaling deeply and making a troubled sound as she slipped his arms from around her. She pulled the blankets over herself, settling down with her head on the pillow next to him. She was nearly asleep when he whimpered again. She searched for his warm hand and he relaxed when her fingers tightened around his hand. He pulled her gently forward and soon she was wrapped tightly in his arms.

She sighed contentedly, loathe to sleep, and miss the unprecedented opportunity to snuggle so intimately with him. Her eyelids were heavy, however, and she snuggled closer into him and wrapped her arms around him in return. He released a happy sigh and buried his nose in her hair. She fell asleep to the beat of his hearts.

As they slept, golden mist would drift from his mouth. They lay so close to one another that the regeneration energy he released continued to drift over Rose's face. Her skin glowed with the power of time and the TARDIS hummed her lullaby, doing her best to feed one specific timeline. Rose shared his breath all night, and woke early in the morning to his shivers.

_The sigh that blew me forward_

_Cause it was trapped_

As she opened her eyes, Rose noted that the Doctor's eyes were still closed and he was shivering heavily. The next thing she noticed, however, was much more surprising. She could feel his shivering all over her body. She was pressed very intimately to him, his arms wrapped tightly around her. His breath (always fresh, thanks to his Time Lord physiology) wafted over her face and she could tell his breathing was labored and uneven. Shaking herself from the euphoria of waking up in his arms, she forced herself into the reality of the situation. His fever was worse and only one of his hearts was working. He needed water and a cold cloth for his forehead.

She gently extricated herself from his hold, wishing for all the world that she didn't have to. Her head was throbbing a bit and her heart was pounding really fast, but other than that she felt no after effects from his regeneration energy. Her head was much clearer now than it had been. That nap was just what she had needed. He moaned and she quickly went to the sink for a cool cloth.

Running the cloth under the tap, she noticed that her skin had a bit of an odd quality about it. It sort of shimmered in the light. She blinked and it was gone. She must have imagined it.

Another moan from the Doctor and she crossed the room quickly. She pressed the cloth to his forehead gently, wiping away the sweat on his brow and calming him somewhat. He breathed in deeply, his eyes moving under his eyelids. His lips parted and he exhaled more golden energy. It floated up and around her, warming her as his breath had. It was only the pained whimper that followed that kept her from closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling.

_Trapped between two lungs_

_It was trapped between two lungs_

She continued to mop his forehead with the cloth, running her fingers through his damp hair. He seemed to calm when she did it a few hours ago. His eyebrows relaxed, no longer frowning in his sleep.

After a few minutes, she checked his temperature again. It was finally beginning to fall. She put her head to his chest and was relieved to hear both hearts beating. He was getting better. When she rose from his chest, a pair of amused eyes met her.

"Not enough pillows on the bed, then? Needed to use me?"

She laughed and smacked him gently, relief flooding her. "Considering this is my bed, I reserve the right to do what I want."

He grinned at that. "Considering your bed is in my ship, I believe I reserve the right to do whatever _I_ want."

She blushed under his intense gaze, and reached for the water on his bedside, holding it to his lips to drink. He was thirsty, but he could tell that she was only giving him a drink to stop him talking.

When he had finished drinking, Rose put the water back on her bedside table, next to her old framed photo of them before his regeneration. She was glad that she would not have to add another of him in this one. She liked him this way. She felt a physical twinge in her heart and winced. It was probably nothing. She was far too young for a heart attack, anyway.

_It was trapped between two lungs_

"You must be feeling better. You finally have the energy to tease me." Rose smiled.

He grinned back, and for the first time in what seemed like forever the light reached his eyes. "Much better. I just need a quick shower and we can be out on another adventure in a few hours!"

He hopped out of bed, wobbling slightly on his feet. Rose quickly helped him steady himself. "Shouldn't we take it easy for a bit, Doctor? You almost died."

He took a moment before answering, still trying to catch his breath. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe just a relaxing, peaceful, planet then? Somewhere with a little fresh air."

Rose nodded. There was no stopping him trying to go out, so she might as well settle on that compromise.

She led him into his own room, which was right across the hall from her own. She hoped he wouldn't say anything about the fact that she had chosen to take him to her room instead of his own. He seemed to gain strength as they walked, and his breath was less labored when they reached his door. He looked down at her with amused eyes.

"You going to help me dress, too?" he laughed. She blushed at that, cursing her human physiology as he only laughed harder.

"Just yell if you need anything. I'll just be...in my room." she said, turning from his amused eyes and hurrying into the safety of her bedroom. She heard his sigh and the snick of his door shutting behind him. She growled in frustration and threw herself onto her bed, where he had awoken just minutes before.

The sheets and blanket smelled of him, that spicy scent of time and tea that seemed to infuse the air around him. She was addicted to that scent, wanted to drown in it. She shoved her nose into the pillow and inhaled deeply, remembering how wonderful it felt to wake up with him holding her so close, even though he was sick. She wondered what it would be like to wake like that every morning, to be with him properly. Her heart skipped a beat and her chest constricted painfully for a moment, taking her breath away. Something odd was going on with her.

She rolled onto her back, the Doctor's scent still surrounding her as she closed her eyes and remembered the previous day.

It had been terrifying, the Doctor's skin glowed golden and hot as they ran back to the TARDIS. He was grunting in pain, sweat pouring from his forehead as he told her frantically that they had to get back to the TARDIS, they had to escape. He couldn't stop his regeneration if they didn't get there soon. She tried to hold his hand as they ran but it burned her from the heat of it, so she threw her arm around his back and held his warm waist as she helped him run. It was so hot, too hot, but he didn't have the strength to keep going on his own. She could see the light of time in his eyes as he struggled on and something in her very core shivered with fear.

When they had made it back to the ship, the console room had shifted into the medical bay. He threw himself onto the cot, talking to his ship in his own lilting and musical language. Rose couldn't understand what was being said but there was something about the tone of his voice and the pitch of the ship's normally calm hum that set her heart to a gallop.

"Doctor, what can I do? Let me help you!" she begged, holding his shaking arm. He looked at her and for a moment his eyes went completely golden, and he seemed not to recognize her. The warm brown soon returned and with it a look of pain that made her miss the cold golden color.

"Rose, there's nothing-ah..."he paused to pant for breath as he doubled over and held his stomach. "There's nothing you can do...I can't fight it...I'll have to regenerate..." he said with unbelievable sadness.

Tears started to fall from her eyes, and she blinked them away. "Nothing at all? I don't want you to go!"

The TARDIS gave a frantic hum and he looked up at the domed ceiling in surprise. "I can't...it won't work, she can't..."

The ship chimed insistently and she saw hope spring to his eyes. "Rose, maybe you can help but it's going to be a bit...invasive." He said before doubling over again, this time letting out a shout of anguish that made her cry out for him through her tears.

"Anything, Doctor! Let me help you!" She grabbed his hand, wincing through the pain of his burning skin on hers. He recovered and turned to her, releasing her hand and grabbing her by the shoulders for support.

"I'm going to give you my regeneration energy. A simple DNA transfer and then I'll let all the energy pass into you while using it to heal my wound. It won't hurt you, it'll just be a bit intense. You're human, it can't do anything to harm you." he said all this quickly, with shaking breath.

She wasn't sure about the plan, but if there was a chance it could save her Doctor she wasn't about to hesitate. "Do it, Doctor. Please. Don't leave me now." she said, brushing his burning face with her hand.

"Right. DNA transfer first. Easiest way...saliva."

She blinked in confusion as he moved his burning hands to her face and pulled her toward him, sealing his warm lips over hers. Her breath left her immediately and all thoughts left her mind. Her lips tingled but did not burn any longer, the hand on her cheek felt warm but wasn't blazing hot. She relaxed into him, almost forgetting what they were doing.

She felt an energy flow through her and it felt vaguely familiar. She could see timelines and visions of the vortex as his tingling breath flowed from his mouth into her gasping lungs. Everything grew warmer and brighter at once and she knew this was him sending his regeneration energy into her. She felt a gentle caress in her head and heard him gasp sharply. The caress stopped.

After a moment she felt him relax against her, his hand slipping back into her hair and his lips softening on hers. She wrapped her arms around him and shifted closer to him. His breath began to even out, his strength returning to him. He began to move his lips against hers and slowly slipped his tongue into her mouth. She began to respond with her own tongue, brushing it against his as she tried to take some control in this DNA transfer-turned-kiss. A sigh escaped him as she entered his warm mouth with her tongue, seeking out the taste of him at its source.

A few moments later, he pulled away and grinned. "Rose Tyler, how you always surprise me."

And then he passed out. She wheeled the cot into her room and put him in her own bed, wanting him close to her so she could care for him and knowing her sheets were softer. He was shaking and sweating, so she couldn't leave him in his suit. She pulled off his jacket and shoes, slipping him under the covers before removing his belt. Her hands were shaking as she removed his tie and unbuttoned his dress shirt. He had a jumper on underneath, and she sighed in both relief and frustration at the fact that she did not have the courage to remove that as well and leave him bare chested.

He had awoken several hours later and was able to give her a little bit of an explanation in between sips of water and golden breaths before he drifted off again, but not before remarking with a quirked brow on his lack of layers.

Rose groaned into her hands at that particular memory, hoping that he had forgotten about that. She didn't regret undressing him for his comfort, but she did wish she could have removed his clothing for other reasons. Memories of that steamy kiss had her feeling flushed and warm.

Her door opened and the Doctor, seeming more himself in his full pinstriped suit, burst in. It startled her, and she quickly sat up. She hoped he didn't notice she had once again buried her face in the pillow he had spent the last day laying on.

"Rose! Rosie Rose Rose! I'm thinking we should go to the garden planet of Valsadoon! They have lovely gardenias and, oh, did I mention a banana farm? It's brilliant! They have bananas of all different sizes, and colors even! Imagine, blue bananas! I- why are you lying down? Come along now, we've spent enough time all snuggled up in bed!"

She smiled at his rant, comforted that he was feeling better, but a blush stained her cheeks at his reference to their snuggling. "I was just stretching out my back. You're a bed hog, you know. I was cramped up all night!"

She hadn't been. She had felt quite comfortable all snuggled in his arms. But she wasn't about to tell him that. Her face felt hot and she prayed he wouldn't notice her blush.

"Rose, are you feeling alright? Your face is turning red. You're not sick, are you?" He got up very close to her face, examining her carefully. "Come on, let's go to the med bay. I want to make sure nothing happened with my regeneration energy. It is a dodgy process and I wasn't really in my right mind at the time-"

"No, Doctor, I'm fine." She interrupted him. She wasn't fine. Her heart was racing. But it would calm down soon enough. She just couldn't stop looking at his lips and thinking of them against hers. Yeah. That's all it was. "I'm just tired. I was worried about you." she said softly.

His lips quirked up in a smile at that and he held out his hand, wiggling his fingers. She took them and noted with relief that they were now back to his normal, cooler temperature. He didn't say anything for a moment, so she spoke.

"Just give me a minute to get changed. Garden planet, yeah? I should wear something other than my jim-jams." She grinned.

He gave her his best manic grin and released her hand. "I'll be in the console room when you're ready!" He closed the door.

She sighed and lay back on the bed. His scent again hit her nose, and she sat back up. "Oh, bugger." She said, frustrated. She headed to her bathroom to shower and change.

In the console room, the Doctor sat on the jump seat. The last day was very fuzzy for him, but there were certain memories he could not deny.

Undeniable memory number one: he had kissed Rose Tyler. Not just a simple DNA transfer (though that had been his initial intention), he had gone all out and kissed her, tasted her mouth with his tongue and tangled his hand in her hair. He had wanted to do it for ages and he supposed the chance that he was going to die had given him a push to go for it.

Undeniable memory number two: Rose Tyler had kissed him back. Not just a polite little press against his lips, but a passionate snog that, if he hadn't been terribly ill, would have probably ended in an equally passionate shag. He couldn't deny that he was in love with his beautiful pink and yellow human, and that he wanted nothing more than to make love to her, but he hadn't wanted their first real kiss to be because he was almost dying. He'd done the "dying" kiss before in his last regeneration and she didn't even remember it.

Undeniable memory number three: He had definitely not been a bed hog. He remembered her snuggling quite comfortably into his arms in the night, and they slept peacefully for several hours. If he was not a bed hog, then she was lying. If she was lying, then she wasn't tired and something was wrong with her. He could hear her heart racing from where he had been standing at the door. He needed to watch her carefully. Perhaps she was just embarrassed because he had pointed out that she had snuggled up to him in the night. He smiled at the memory of her in his arms. Though he had been riddled with fever at the time, he remembered quite clearly the calm that had settled over his perpetually troubled mind as his forehead rested against hers.

This led him to undeniable memory number four: Rose Tyler was telepathic. During their kiss, his mind had instinctually reached for hers. He had expected a brick wall of nothingness that was usually the human mind to his senses, but instead he had found a door. It was wide open and through it he had seen the very essence of time and space and everything that Rose Tyler was. He had pulled back quickly, knowing she didn't know what she was showing him and not wanting to invade her most personal of places. There was one conclusion he had to draw from this observation however. Rose Tyler was no longer a human. She was something far more extraordinary.

How was he going to go about telling her all of this without her thinking he had taken advantage of her?

He heard her footsteps coming down the hall and stood, trying to forget the feel of her lips on his and how much he wanted to do it again. When she appeared, he ran to her and threw his arms around her. He had missed her in the twenty seven minutes she had taken to shower and dress.

She laughed and returned his hug, feeling all awkwardness from the night fade away in the comfort of his arms. She had been so afraid that he would die and she would have to get to know a stranger again. She would always love him, but she was so comfortable with this him.

"You ready to go?" he asked, grinning down at her. She smiled and nodded, taking his hand with hers and walking out into the fragrant fields of Valsadoon.

They spent the day walking slowly through the various gardens. They laughed and joked, celebrating the fact that they were still alive and he was still him. Every once in a while Rose felt a twinge in her heart or she felt a bit out of breath, but she thought nothing of it. His smile made her heart skip beats all the time.

It happened when she was chasing him down for stealing her shoes. She had been soaking her feet in the cool river next to a grove of purple bananas (which neither she nor the Doctor could quite get the courage up to eat) when he stole her shoes from her and ran away. She demanded he bring them back to her.

"You're going to have to catch me, then!" he shouted, laughing. She stood and began to chase him. She knew she wouldn't catch him for a while, he had an unbelievable lung capacity. She had never been able to keep up with him unless he slowed his pace for her. But something was different this time.

It was like she was flying after him, her breaths coming and going steadily as she gained on him in the large field of orange daisies he was running in. He turned to look over his shoulder and she saw the surprise on his face that she was gaining on him, and so he began to run faster.

She felt an easy speed come into her legs and she continued to gain on him, laughing all the way. She was young and free, and she and her Doctor could play this game forever. In that moment she felt as though they could never part.

_And my running feet could fly_

_Each breath screaming _

_We are all too young to die_

She tackled him to the ground, laughing at his surprised shout as he lay there underneath her. Her skin shimmered in the sunlight as she lay her head on his chest and giggled, her breathing not even fast. It was as if she hadn't been running after him for at least seven minutes.

Dread came over him. Something was very wrong. Rose's mind may be telepathic, but her body was human. There was no way she would be able to keep up with him before he was ready for her to catch him. But she had just run him down and caught up with him, with seemingly little effort.

Rose stopped laughing when she noticed that the Doctor wasn't laughing with her. He was looking at her with a terrified look in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" she asked nervously, trying to find his hand with hers as she always did when she was uneasy.

He slipped his fingers between hers and pulled her up with him. "Let's go back to the TARDIS. I want to run some scans."

She frowned as he handed her shoes to her and waited for her to put them on before heading in the direction of the TARDIS. "What's wrong? What kind of scans?"

He stopped abruptly. "You're...different, Rose."

Her heart started to twinge as they walked quickly and she knew something was wrong. "What do you mean?"

He felt his cheeks grow warm. "You remember yesterday, when I...did that DNA transfer?" he asked.

She heaved a frustrated internal sigh. So he wasn't admitting to the kiss. "yeah?"

He felt relieved when the TARDIS came into view. "I wasn't in my right mind, you know."

The physical pain in her heart became emotional. He was about to tell her the kiss was a mistake. "Yeah, I know."

He turned to look at her. "I couldn't control my reactions, so I did something instinctual for a Time Lord...I sent my mind out to connect with yours."

Rose looked up at him, trying not to wince at the tightness in her chest. She remembered that brush against her mind during their kiss. "Yeah?"

"Well, normally humans don't respond at all to that. You lot are kind of like a big brick wall, no way into your mind or out unless you concentrate really hard. You're not supposed to be able to do the whole mind connection thing." he said, hesitantly.

She didn't think she could speak anymore, so she just nodded.

He continued. "You're different, Rose. Your mind replied. There was a door, and I...I looked in. I know I shouldn't have, and I didn't go all the way in, but I took a peek. I'm so, so sorry but you're not completely human and I want to see what's changed."

The pain she was feeling was unbearable and she finally gave in to it. She doubled over and let out a pained gasp, her lungs tightening and her heart pounding. She thought for a moment that she would throw up, but with her throat so tight she knew nothing would make it out. The Doctor fell to the ground with her.

"Rose? Rose! What's wrong, Rose?" the TARDIS was only fifty feet away, and he scooped her up and began to run to the ship. He was still weak from the regeneration sickness and his arms shook with her weight but he didn't drop her. "Rose, come on stay with me!"

She blinked away tears, seeing gold. "It hurts, Doctor. I don't know why!" and she passed out. The Doctor ran faster. "No, no no, Rose you can't leave me now!"

He reached the TARDIS doors and, sensing his distress, they flew open for him. He ran straight to the med bay and began hooking machines up to his now unconscious Rose.

It was then that he saw it. He was placing electrodes on her temple when she sighed in pain. Out of her mouth drifted golden energy.

His regeneration energy.

Guilt wracked him and tears began to form in his eyes, which he hastily blinked away. "Nonononono, Rose no! I did this to you! Oh, I'm so stupid! You're not human anymore and I gave you all of my energy, not even knowing what it was going to do!"

_Between two lungs it was released_

_The breath that passed from you to me_

_That flew between us as we slept_

_It slipped from your mouth into mine it crept_

He finished putting all of the machines on her and he began looking frantically to find out what was wrong with her. Her heart was racing, her breathing was slow and labored, and she looked pale. He ran his hands through his hair, crying out in anguish because his Rose was slipping away, it was his fault, and he had no idea how to fix it.

His hands tore through his hair as he looked at the monitors again, her vitals getting weaker by the second. There wasn't anything he could do about it, no time to run a diagnostic, and even if there were he didn't know the treatment for regeneration sickness in species that couldn't regenerate! It was all his fault. Rose was going to die all because he wanted to keep his current face.

"Oh, Rose, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry. I don't know what to do." He rasped, his voice weak and gravelly. He wrapped his hand around hers, feeling how warm it was. She had a fever and her skin continued to shimmer like it had earlier in the sunlight.

"Rose, don't leave me. Please." He whispered to her. Her eyes were clenched shut tight, her breaths only coming two or three times a minute now. There were no drugs for this. She was healthy, young, and he had poisoned her with his Time Lord DNA and energy. He closed his eyes and looked for the mental door he had seen in her head. It was there, standing wide open and inside he could see Rose sitting in the middle of a large, empty room. He hesitated, but now was not the time to be waiting for permission.

He felt the golden energy from another breath waft over his face as he brought his forehead to hers. This may be his only chance to save her.

_Between two lungs it was released_

_The breath that passed from you to me_

_That flew between us as we slept_

_It slipped from your mouth into mine it crept_

He slipped carefully through the door and tried not to let himself enjoy the feeling of being in her head too much. He felt her presence strong around him, but was aware of the ever fading breaths in her chest and the more frantic beeping from the heart monitor.

"Rose?"

She looked over at him and stood, running into his arms. "What's happening, Doctor? What's going on?"

He took a deep breath, knowing his next words would make his precious pink and yellow human hate him. "Oh, Rose I'm sorry. It's my fault. There's not much time, and there's nothing I can do. It's my regeneration energy. You're no longer human and my regeneration energy is reacting with your body. It's killing you. You're dying and it's all my fault."

In true form, she continued to amaze him. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and looked him in the eye. He couldn't breathe with her intense gaze focused on him. "Doctor, It's not your fault. If I die, then I died to save you." She paused, seeming to contemplate something before looking back up at him. "I...I love you, Doctor. And I would give my life for the man I love many times. I will die for you gladly. Just, do one thing for me before I go?"

He couldn't see her anymore through his tears, could feel his physical body openly weeping for the girl dying in his arms. "Anything, Rose. Anything."

"Just kiss me one more time?"

He looked down into her eyes for the last time, nodding gently. He could see that she was afraid. He wanted nothing more than to find some way to save her. She was brilliant, and he wasn't going to live long without her. He could already feel the grieving in his hearts, knew he would probably regenerate anyway from the pain of losing her. So he did the only thing he could, he leaned down and brought his lips to brush hers.

As they met gently and parted, a tentative brush of his lips against hers, he whispered softly "Rose Tyler, I love you." and brought his lips down on hers in the most passionate kiss he had ever experienced in all his lives. He was shaking as he wrapped his arms around her, tasted the salt of her tears on his lips and felt her weak heartbeat against his hands as his physical body kissed her too. When he broke the kiss he was sobbing openly, and her face was wet with tears.

Her hand brushed his cheek. "Don't let this ruin you, Doctor. Don't die because I die. Go and live for me. Save some planets, do what you do, find another love, but please don't let my end be yours too." He saw grief in her eyes and knew it was not for herself. It was for him.

He would do as she asked, then. He would save people for her. He would be the man she made him, and not the man she found. But there was one thing he could never do. He could never love another the way he loved her.

"I promise, Rose. I promise. I..."

And suddenly he was kicked out of her mind. The warmth in his head that was her presence once again became a gaping chasm of cold loneliness. He was paralyzed by the pain he felt at the separation. It was only the continuous beep in his ears that broke him of his stupor.

Rose's heart had stopped.

An inhuman sound of anguish was ripped from his throat as he stood and frantically began CPR, desperately hoping he could save her. Her skin still shimmered but her breaths weren't coming anymore, her mind was a stone wall, and he couldn't connect with her.

He tried for nearly an hour, her body cooling under his frantic hands and tears falling unchecked down his face. He begged her, screamed for her, and she still lay dead on the table. He loved her. And he had killed her.

Grief tore through him like a hurricane. He pulled her to him, sobbing into her neck and begging her to come back to him, his pain more palpable than any other he had ever felt. How could he have been sleeping with her in his arms this morning and now grieving over her only hours later?

His sobs stilled as the emptiness began to take him. It was only then that he noticed something. Where his nose was buried in her neck, he could feel gentle puffs of air against his ear. Her chest, pressed against his, was rising and falling.

She was alive?!

He stepped back from her, looking at the monitors. Sure enough, her heart wasn't beating. So how was she breathing?

"Rose?" he whispered as he cupped her cheek. He was afraid to believe, to hope that she was coming back to him.

Her chest heaved and out of her mouth came more golden regeneration energy. It floated around them in a cloud and settled on her skin.

_Cause it was trapped _

_Trapped between two lungs _

_It was trapped between two lungs_

The glow on her skin continued to pulse and shine, and he began to feel the heat radiating off of her. He couldn't believe his eyes. He reached to take her hand, but it burned his skin. Without warning, her body burst into golden flames, the heat pushing him backwards. He watched, hypnotized by the sight, and paralyzed by hope.

The flames receded, and she was still laying there. Her breathing was strong, her eyes moving behind her eyelids. The electrodes for the monitors had been burned off in the fire, and he lay his head on her chest. A heartbeat. Two heartbeats in tandem.

Rose had regenerated. She had saved his life, died for him, and now she had regenerated. He cried out in relief, crawling up on to the cot with her and pulling her into his arms, relishing in the feel of her hearts against his hands and her breaths on his neck. The empty place in his mind was filled with a golden glow, the quiet whisper of another Time Lord consciousness.

His Rose was _alive_, and she wouldn't be leaving him anytime soon. He felt their timelines tangle together and could see them stretching far, far into the future. He was soon lulled to sleep by her comforting presence where, for so long, there had been nothing but emptiness.

_No more the days of begging the days of theft_

_No more gasping for a breath_

Rose awoke feeling warm. Very warm. Her mind was clear, clearer than she had ever felt it. It was as though she hadn't been using all of it for her whole life and she'd suddenly discovered how vast it could be. She tried to remember how she had gotten here, but all she could remember was light and singing...

The Doctor!

Where was he?

It was then that she realized she was being held. She inhaled deeply, instantly assaulted by a variety of smells. She was soothed, however, when she realized the person holding her was very much the Doctor himself. He was asleep, the gentle puffs of his breath in her hair making her smile. That kiss in her mind...oh what would it be like to kiss him for real?

She shifted her head out from under his chin to look up at his face. Oh, but he was a handsome man. His hair was disheveled, his lips upturned in a gentle smile, the stubble on his chin giving him that look of manly ruggedness. She could feel a warmth in her head and knew instinctually that it was him. Something was different about her, she knew that much.

The tear tracks on his face made her stop in her thoughts. Oh, he had wept for her. She had felt some of his grief when he had been in her head, but it hadn't been anywhere near the grief she had felt in leaving him behind. She hadn't known the extent to which he was hurting.

And...oh, was that memory right? He had finally told her...he said he loved her.

A grin spread over her face. Her daft alien man _loved_ her! She couldn't help what she did next. She brought her hand up to run through his hair, smiling still at the way he nuzzled into her touch and made a satisfied sort of sigh. She brought her lips up to meet his in a gentle kiss, feeling him slowly wake. He pulled her closer in his arms, and she let her hand weave tighter into his hair. Her mouth opened under his as he woke fully, letting him explore her mouth with his tongue and shivering at the whimpering moan he released into her mouth. It was a few minutes before he released her. She smiled up at him, basking in his loving gaze.

"Hello." she said softly.

He laughed, his eyes crinkling in that smile she adored. "Hello, Rose."

She brought her lips up to brush his again, snuggling back into his arms. "Could get used to wakin' up like this." she said, breathing in his scent.

He began running his hands up and down her back. "Mm me too. I've decided that you can't have a room on the TARDIS anymore."

She looked up at him, slight fear in her eyes. He was quick to continue, before she could make any further assumptions. "Looks like you're just going to have to share my room."

She sighed in relief and smacked him on the shoulder. "Thought you were kicking me out for a minute."

He pressed a light kiss to her forehead. "No. You're not leaving me. I can't let you go."

She smiled at that. Her stomach began to growl, distracting them from their little cocoon of warmth. The Doctor stood and held his hand for her. "Been a while since you've eaten. Fancy some homemade chips?" She smiled and nodded, taking his hand and following him to the TARDIS kitchen.

He pulled out one of the stools at the counter and gestured for her to sit. She watched in silence as he went about making her favorite food. They needed to talk about what had just happened. She felt different, and she was pretty sure she had died for a while. She knew she had. She had felt herself slipping from her body, heard his cries, and felt the cradling embrace of the TARDIS as she frantically tried to return to her body, to her Time Lord.

A plate of hot chips was set in front of her, doused with vinegar. She looked at the Doctor and saw he hadn't made any for himself. He sat beside her, smiling back at her. It seemed he hadn't stopped smiling since she had awoken. She took a chip and held it to his lips.

"Rose, you eat. You've been through a lot today."

She frowned. "So have you. You only recovered from regeneration sickness this morning."

He shook his head. "Yes, but you just _regenerated_." He said it with such awe and wonder that she paused for a minute, putting the chip back on the plate.

"Is that what happened? I regenerated?" she asked.

He nodded, his eyes filling with sorrow again. "Yeah. You...you were dead. For about an hour. Then you started breathing again and you just...you regenerated."

She took a moment to take in that new information. "So...do I look any different?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. The same gorgeous Rose as before."

She blushed at his comment. She wasn't used to receiving such open compliments from him before. "And...do I have two hearts? Am I just like you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You do. You have two hears, telepathic abilities, a time sense. You're a full Time Lord. Well, Time Lady."

She smiled. Hope filled her. If she was a Time Lady, then...maybe she wouldn't have to leave him behind? "So, my life span? Will I live as long as you?"

He grinned widely. "Oh, yes Rose. You can spend the rest of your life with me. And...you want to know the best part?"

She nodded, taking his hand.

He laughed, his eyes shining again. "I can spend the rest of my life with you. I can promise you myself, everything I have, until the day I die."

Rose thought her face might crack from her smile. "Well then, Doctor. You know I've already made my promise. The fact that my life is longer doesn't change that. I'm never gonna leave you."

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "Rose Tyler, I promise I will never leave you."

Rose pulled him up from his chair, leading him through the console room and outside into the field of flowers the TARDIS had landed on that morning. Her new time sense had been spot on. It was sunset. The golden hue of the sun fell over the trees silhouetting them against the bright sky. The flowers shone in the the dying light, the gold glistening off of their waxy petals. A flock of birds flew above them, feathers glinting in the sun.

"So, Doctor" she looked at him and looked back curiously. "How long are you gonna stay with me?"

He grinned, his eyes glistening again as he pulled her close to him. He whispered against her lips. "Forever."

His kiss filled her with love and happiness as his mind brushed hers. They kissed until the stars shone down on them and the twilight chill and Rose's still neglected stomach brought them out of their cocoon. They went back inside to eat dinner, after which he took her to see her mother.

Jackie accepted her new body easily, seeing from the looks in their eyes how happy they were. She wasn't going to hold them back anymore. She really wanted grandchildren.

The next morning the Doctor woke Rose early in the morning, telling her to dress in her favorite outfit, no matter what it was. She grumbled about being awoken so early but was easily convinced by a few gentle kisses.

She went to her closet and chose her favorite sundress, blue with a little sash at the waist. She wondered with excitement what the Doctor had in store for them that day.

After a long taxi ride (and a few not-so-gentle kisses) they arrived at a large field and Rose saw that there was a hot air balloon waiting for them. They went on a hot air balloon ride over London, and as they floated over the bridge, Big Ben and the London eye in sight, the Doctor got down on one knee in the basket.

"Doctor?" she questioned, knowing what he was doing but unable to believe it.

"Rose." He grinned and pulled a little box out of his pocket.

Oh, this wasn't happening. He wasn't being a complete romantic and proposing to her in the air above the place they had their first adventure. If this was happening, she was going to shag him right here in this basket, forget the fact that their first real kiss was yesterday.

"Doctor?" she repeated.

He opened the box and inside was a ring. It looked like a sapphire, but shone in a way that Rose knew was completely alien and very beautiful.

"Rose, you promised me forever and I promised you your lifetime. Now I can promise you more than I ever thought I could give you. Rose Tyler, I promise you _my_ forever. Will you marry me? Be my wife, my bond mate, my everything? Will you be my forever?"

She had never thought she would be one of those women that cried when she was proposed to, but tears fell down her cheeks as she fell to her knees in front of the Doctor and captured his lips with hers.

_The air has filled me head to toe_

_And I can see the ground far below_

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately, his mind brushing hers gently.

"So was that a yes?" he asked, after breaking the kiss reluctantly.

She nodded. "Of course it is, you idiot."

He pushed the ring onto her finger and they stood up, spending the rest of the ride in each others embrace, gazing out over the city.

They spent the rest of the day in London, doing silly things like they always did. They managed to find trouble for a few hours, and saved an alien that looked like a puppy from being bought by a terrible woman that smelled like beans and cheese. They returned to her mother's flat and shared the news of their engagement, which was met with enthusiastic approval and chatter about grandchildren. That night, the Doctor snuck out of the TARDIS to hold Rose in her bed as he had done the night before.

As they lay there, he felt her sigh deeply.

_I have this breath and I hold it tight_

_And I keep it in my chest with all my might_

"Something wrong, Rose?" he asked.

"No. Everything's fine, I was just...wondering something." she played with her ring and snuggled deeper into his chest.

"Out with it. We both know you're not going to let it go." he said teasingly.

"Well...mum said something about grandchildren. Now that I'm a Time Lady, you're not the last Time Lord anymore, right?" she asked, hoping this discussion wouldn't bring back any bad memories for him.

"No, I've got you." He smiled into her hair, still unable to believe his fortune.

"So, could we...have children?" she asked, pausing a moment before rambling on nervously. "I mean, not right away, but after a few years...if we have kids, maybe the Time Lords don't have to be gone forever. They can carry on the race, you can teach them everything you know and..."

The Doctor stopped her with a kiss. "Do you want children?" he asked her gently.

She paused for a moment. She'd never wanted to be a mother before, but now she realized that she wanted to be. She wanted to have the Doctor's children, to raise them, to watch them grow into little miniature versions of him and to have a family of her very own. The revelation surprised her, even though she had been the one to bring it up.

"Yeah. I think I do." she replied.

The Doctor smiled into her neck. "I'd love to have children with you."

He would never be alone again.

_I pray to God this breath will last_

_As it pushes past my lips as I gasp_

_gasp _

They slept that night in each other's arms, and every night after that. The Doctor was right, he was never alone again. Rose was happier than she had ever imagined.

Fifty years later, she told her oldest daughter the story of how she had been given forever in a golden breath. The Doctor watched from the doorway, a contented smile on his face and happiness in his hearts.

**A/N: Well, what did you think? This chapter was a monster and I've been working on it FOREVER. I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm still working on the next chapter for Return to Memory and Carnival of Discovery, and I hope to get them up soon. I'm usually so tired from school and studying that I don't have a lot of time to write. Thank you for reading and reviews really do help me when I'm having trouble writing! Thank you for being so loyal, even when my updates aren't as frequent as I wish they could be!**

**With love,**

**doctorrosetyler**


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